■:^'^%.^r      '       UNIVERSITY  OF^a  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


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University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


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"OUR  LITTLE   WALK   ALONG  THE   QUAYS."  -  PAGE  40 


PEASUPE   SLAND 


BY  ROBERT  LOUIS  STEVENSON 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW   YORK 

McLOUGHLIN    BROTHERS 


Robert  Louis  Stevenson.  Page  2  Treasure  Island 


Treasure.  Island 


CHAPTER    I 


THE   OLD    SKA    DOG    AT    THE    ADMIRAL    BENBOW 

QUIRE  TRELAWXEY  and  Doctor  Livesey 
having  asked  me  to  write  down  the  particulars 
about  Treasure  Island,  keeping  nothing  hack  hut 
the  hearings  of  the  island,  and  that  only  because 
there  is  still  treasure  not  yet  lifted,  I  take  up  my 
pen  in  the  year  of  grace  17 — ,  and  go  back  to  the 
time  when  my  father  kept  the  Admiral  Benbow 
Inn,  and  the  brown  old  seaman  first  took  up  his  lodging  under  our  roof. 
I  remember  him  as  if  it  were  yesterday,  as  he  came  plodding  to 
the  inn  door,  his  sea-chest  following  behind  him  in  a  hand-barrow; 
a  tall,  strong,  heavy,  nut-brown  man;  his  tarry  pig-tail  falling  over 
the  shoulders  of  his  soiled  blue  coat;  his  hands  ragged  and  scarred, 
with  black,  broken  nails,  and  the  saber-cut  across  one  cheek,  a  dirty, 
livid  white.  I  remember  him  looking  round  the  cove  and  whistling 
to  himself  as  he  did  so,  and  then  breaking  out  in  that  old  sea-song 
that  he  sung  so  often  afterward: 

"Fifteen  men  on  the  dead  man's  chest — 
Yo-ho-ho  and  a  bottle  of  rum!" 

in  the  high,  old  tottering  voice  that  seemed  to  have  been  tuned  and 
bi-oken  at  the  capstan  bars.     Then  he  rapped  on  the  door,  and  when 
my  father  appeared,  called  roughly  for  a  glass  of  rum.     This  he  drank 
slowly,  still  looking  about  him  at  the  cliffs  and  up  at  our  signboard. 
"This  is  a  handy  cove,"  said  he,  at  length.     "Much  company, 


4  TREASURE    ISLAND 

mate?" — My  father  told  him  no,  the  more  the  pity. — "Well,  then," 
said  he,  "this  is  the  berth  for  me.  Here  you,  matey,"  he  cried  to  the 
man  who  trundled  the  barrow;  "bring  up  alongside  and  help  up  my 
chest.  I'll  stay  here  a  bit,"  he  continued.  "I'm  a  plain  man;  rum 
and  bacon  and  eggs  is  what  I  want,  and  that  head  up  there  for  to 
watch  ships  off.  What  you  mought  call  me?  You  mought  call  me 
captain.  Oh,  I  see  what  you're  at — there";  and  he  threw  down  three 
or  four  gold  pieces  on  the  threshold.  "You  can  tell  me  when  I've 
worked  through  that,"  said  he,  looking  as  fierce  as  a  commander. 

He  was  a  very  silent  man  by  custom.  All  day  he  hung  round  the 
cove,  or  upon  the  cliffs,  with  a  brass  telescope.  Every  day,  when  he 
came  back  from  his  stroll,  he  would  ask  if  any  seafaring  men  had 
gone  by  along  the  road.  At  first  we  thought  it  was  the  want  of 
company  of  his  own  kind  that  made  him  ask  this  question ;  but  at  last 
we  began  to  see  he  was  desirous  to  avoid  them.  He  took  me  aside 
one  day  and  promised  me  a  silver  fourpenny  on  the  first  of  every 
month  if  I  would  keep  my  "weather  eye  open  for  a  seafaring  man 
with  one  leg,"  and  let  him  know  the  moment  he  appeared.  How  that 
personage  haunted  my  dreams,  I  need  scarcely  tell  you. 

But  though  I  was  so  terrified  by  the  idea  of  the  seafaring  man 
with  one  leg,  I  was  far  less  afraid  of  the  captain  himself  than  anybody 
else  who  knew  him.  There  were  nights  when  he  took  a  deal  more 
rum  and  water  than  his  head  would  carry;  and  then  he  would  some- 
times sit  and  sing  his  wicked,  old,  wild  sea-songs,  minding  nobody; 
but  sometimes  he  would  call  for  glasses  round,  and  force  all  the 
trembling  company  to  bear  a  chorus  to  his  singing.  Nor  would  he 
allow  any  one  to  leave  the  inn  till  he  had  drunk  himself  sleepy  and 
reeled  off  to  bed.  My  father  was  always  sa3ring  the  inn  would  be 
ruined,  for  people  would  soon  cease  coming  there  to  be  tyrannized  over 
and  sent  shivering  to  their  beds ;  but  his  presence  did  us  good.  People 
were  frightened  at  the  time ;  but  on  looking  back  they  rather  liked  it ; 
it  was  a  fine  excitement  in  a  quiet  country  life. 


TREASURE    ISLAND  5 

All  the  time  he  lived  with  us  the  captain  made  no  change  what- 
ever in  his  dress  but  to  buy  some  stockings  from  a  hawker.  One  of 
the  cocks  of  his  hat  having  fallen  down,  he  let  it  hang  from  that  day 
forth,  though  it  was  a  great  annoyance  when  it  blew.  I  remember 
the  appearance  of  his  coat,  which  he  patched  himself,  and  which,  before 
the  end,  was  nothing  but  patches.  lie  never  wrote  or  received  a  letter, 
and  he  never  spoke  with  any  hot  the  neighbors,  and  with  these  only 
when  drunk  on  rum.  The  great  sea-chest  none  of  us  had  ever  seen 
open. 

He  was  only  once  crossed,  and  that  was  toward  the  end,  when 
my  poor  father  was  far  gone  in  a  decline  that  took  him  off.  Doctor 
Livesey  came  late  one  afternoon  to  see  the  patient,  took  a  bit  of 
dinner,  and  went  into  the  parlor  to  smoke  a  pipe.  I  followed  him  in, 
and  I  remember  observing  the  contrast  the  neat,  bright  doctor,  with  his 
powder  as  white  as  snow,  and  his  bright,  black  eyes  and  pleasant  man- 
ners, made  with  the  coltish  country  folk,  and,  above  all,  with  that 
filthy,  heavy,  bleared  scarecrow  of  a  pirate  of  ours,  sitting  far  gone 
in  rum,  with  his  arms  on  the  table.  Suddenly  the  captain  began  to 
pipe  up  his  eternal  song: 

"Fifteen  men  on  the  dead  man's  chest — 
Yo-ho-ho  and  a  bottle  of  rum ! 
Drink  and  the  devil  had  done  for  the  rest — 
Yo-ho-ho  and  a  bottle  of  rum!" 

and  at  last  flapped  his  hand  upon  the  table  before  him  in  a  wray  we 
all  knew  to  mean — silence.  The  voices  stopped  at  once,  all  but  Doctor 
Livesey's;  he  went  on  speaking  clear  and  kind,  and  drawing  briskly 
at  his  pipe  between  every  word  or  two.  The  captain  glared  at  him 
for  a  while,  flapped  his  hand  again,  and  broke  out  with  a  low  oath: 
"Silence,  there,  between  decks!" — "Were  you  addressing  me,  sir?"  said 
the  doctor;  and  when  the  ruffian  told  him,  with  another  oath,  that  this 
was  so,  replied:   "I  have  only  one  thing  to  say  to  you,  sir,  that  if  you 


6  TREASURE    ISLAND 

keep  on  drinking-  rum,  the  world  will  soon  be  quit  of  a  very  dirty 
scoundrel." 

The  old  fellow's  fury  was  awful.  He  sprang  to  his  feet,  drew 
and  oj^ened  a  sailor's  clasp-knife,  and  balancing  it  open  on  the  palm 
of  his  hand,  threatened  to  pin  the  doctor  to  the  wall.  The  doctor  never 
so  much  as  moved.  He  spoke  to  him  over  his  shoulder,  and  in  the 
same  tone  of  voice,  rather  high,  so  that  all  the  room  might  hear,  but 
perfectly  calm  and  steady:  "If  you  do  not  put  that  knife  this  instant 
into  your  pocket,  I  promise  you  shall  hang  at  the  next  assizes." 

Then  followed  a  battle  of  looks  between  them;  but  the  captain 
soon  knuckled  under,  put  up  his  weapon,  and  resumed  his  seat,  grum- 
bling like  a  beaten  dog. 

"And  now,  sir,"  continued  the  doctor,  "since  I  now  know  there's 
such  a  fellow  in  my  district,  you  may  count  I'll  have  an  eye  upon  you 
day  and  night.  I'm  not  a  doctor  only,  I'm  a  magistrate;  and  if  I 
catch  a  breath  of  complaint  against  you,  if  it's  only  for  a  piece  of 
incivility  like  to-night's,  I'll  take  means  to  have  you  hunted  down  and 
routed  out  of  this." 

Soon  after  Doctor  Livesey's  horse  came  to  the  door  and  he  rode 
away,  but  the  captain  held  his  peace  that  evening,  and  for  many  even- 
ings to  come. 


CHAPTER    II 

BLACK    DOG    APPEARS   AND   DISAPPEARS 

It  was  not  very  long  after  this  that  there  occurred  the  first  of 
the  mysterious  events  that  rid  us  at  last  of  the  captain,  though  not  of 
his  affairs.  It  was  a  bitter  cold  winter,  with  long,  hard  frosts  and 
heavy  gales;  and  it  was  plain  from  the  first  that  my  poor  father  was 
little  likely  to  see  the  spring. 

It  was  one  January  morning,  very  early — a  pinching,   frosty 


TREASURE    ISLAND  / 

morning — the  cove  all  gray  with  hoar  frost,  the  ripple  lapping  softly 
on  the  stones,  the  sun  still  low,  and  only  touching  the  hill-tops  and 
shining  far  to  seaward.  The  captain  had  risen  earlier  than  usual,  and 
set  out  down  the  beach,  his  cutlass  swinging  under  the  broad  skirts  of 
the  old  blue  coat,  his  brass  telescope  under  his  arm,  his  hat  tilted  back 
upon  his  head. 

Well,  mother  was  up-stairs  with  father,  and  I  was  laying  the 
breakfast  table,  when  the  parlor  door  opened  and  a  man  stepped  in 
on  whom  I  had  never  set  eyes  before.  He  was  a  pale,  tallowy  crea- 
ture, wanting  two  fingers  of  the  left  hand.  I  had  always  my  eyes 
open  for  seafaring  men,  with  one  leg  or  two,  and  I  remember  this  one 
puzzled  me.  I  asked  him  what  was  for  his  service,  and  he  said  he 
would  take  rum,  but  as  I  was  going  out  to  fetch  it  he  sat  down  upon 
a  table  and  motioned  to  me  to  draw  near.  I  paused  where  I  Avas  with 
my  napkin  in  my  hand. 

"Come  here,  sonny,"  said  he.  "Come  nearer  here."  I  took  a  step 
nearer.  "Is  this  here  table  for  my  mate  Bill?"  he  asked,  with  a  kind  of 
leer.  I  told  him  I  did  not  know  his  mate  Bill,  and  this  was  for  a  person 
who  stayed  at  our  house,  whom  we  called  the  captain.  "Well,"  said 
he,  "my  mate  Bill  would  be  called  the  captain.  He  has  a  cut  on  one 
cheek,  and  a  mighty  pleasant  way  with  him,  particularly  in  drink,  has 
my  mate  Bill.  We'll  put  it,  for  argument  like,  that  your  captain  has 
a  cut  on  one  cheek.     Now,  is  my  mate  Bill  in  this  here  house?" 

I  told  him  he  was  out  walking. — "Which  way,  sonny?  Which 
way  is  he  gone?"  '  And  when  I  had  pointed  out  the  rock  and  told  him 
how  the  captain  was  likely  to  return,  and  how  soon,  and  answered  a  few 
other  questions,  "Ah,"  said  he,  "this'll  be  as  good  as  drink  to  my  mate 
Bill." 

The  expression  of  his  face  as  he  said  these  words  was  not  pleasant, 
and  I  had  my  own  reasons  for  thinking  that  the  stranger  was  mistaken. 
But  it  was  no  affair  of  mine,  and,  besides,  it  was  difficult  to  know  what 
to  do.     The  stranger  kept  hanging  about  just  inside  the  inn  door, 


8  TREASURE    ISLAND 

peering  round  the  corner  like  a  cat  waiting  for  a  mouse.  Once  I 
stepped  out  myself  into  the  road,  but  he  called  me  back,  and,  as  I  did 
not  obey  quick  enough  for  his  fancy,  a  most  horrible  change  came  over 
his  tallowy  face,  and  he  ordered  me  in  with  an  oath  that  made  me  jump. 

As  soon  as  I  was  back  again  he  returned  to  his  former  manner, 
half -fawning,  half -sneering,  patted  me  on  the  shoulder,  told  me  I 
was  a  good  boy,  and  he  had  taken  quite  a  fancy  to  me.  "I  have  a  son 
of  my  own,"  said  he,  "as  like  you  as  two  blocks,  and  he's  all  the  pride 
of  my  'art.  But  the  great  thing  for  boys  is  discipline,  sonny — dis- 
cipline. Xowt,  if  you  had  sailed  along  of  Bill,  you  wouldn't  have 
stood  there  to  be  spoken  to  twice — not  you.  And  here,  sure  enough, 
is  my  mate  Bill,  with  a  spy-glass  under  his  arm,  bless  his  old  'art,  to 
be  sure.  You  and  me'll  just  go  back  into  the  parlor,  sonny,  and  get 
behind  the  door,  and  we'll  give  Bill  a  little  surprise — bless  his  'art,  I  say 
again." 

So  saying,  the  stranger  backed  along  with  me  into  the  parlor,  and 
put  me  behind  him  in  the  corner,  so  that  we  were  both  hidden  by  the 
open  door.  I  was  very  alarmed,  and  it  rather  added  to  my  fears  to 
observe  that  the  stranger  was  certainly  frightened  himself. 

At  last  in  strode  the  captain,  slammed  the  door  behind  him,  with- 
out looking  to  the  right  or  left,  and  marched  straight  across  the  room 
to  where  his  breakfast  awaited  him.  "Bill,"  said  the  stranger,  in  a 
voice  that  I  thought  he  had  tried  to  make  bold  and  big.  The  captain 
spun  round  on  his  heel  and  fronted  us;  all  the  brown  had  gone  out  of 
his  face,  and  even  his  nose  was  blue;  he  had  the  look  of  a  man  who 
sees  a  ghost,  and  I  felt  sorry  to  see  him  turn  so  old  and  sick. 

"Come,  Bill,  you  know  me;  you  know  an  old  shipmate,  Bill, 
surely,"  said  the  stranger.  The  captain  made  a  sort  of  gasp. — "Black 
Dog!"  said  he. — "And  who  else?"  returned  the  other,  getting  more 
at  his  ease.  "Black  Dog  as  ever  was,  come  for  to  see  his  old  ship- 
mate. Ah,  Bill,  Bill,  we  have  seen  a  sight  of  times,  us  two,  since  I 
lost  them  two  talons,"  holding  up  his  mutilated  hand. — "Now,  look 


TREASURE    ISLAND 


Page  . 


10  TREASURE    ISLAND 

here,"  said  the  captain;  "you've  run  me  down;  here  I  am;  well,  then, 
speak  up;  what  is  it?" — "That's  you,  Bill,"  returned  Black  Dog; 
you're  in  the  right  of  it,  Billy.  I'll  have  a  glass  of  rum,  and  we'll  sit 
down  and  talk  square,  like  old  shipmates." 

When  I  returned  with  the  rum  they  were  already  seated  on  either 
side  of  the  tahle — Black  Dog  next  to  the  door,  and  sitting  sideways, 
so  as  to  have  one  eye  on  his  old  shipmate  and  one,  as  I  thought,  on  his 
retreat.  He  bade  me  go  and  leave  the  door  wide  open.  "None  of 
your  keyholes  for  me,  sonny,"  he  said,  and  I  left  them  together  and 
retired  into  the  bar. 

For  a  long  time,  though  I  certainly  did  my  best  to  listen,  I  could 
hear  nothing  but  a  low  gabbling ;  but  at  last  the  voices  began  to  grow 
higher,  and  I  could  pick  up  a  word  or  two,  mostly  oaths,  from  the 
captain.  "No,  no,  no,  no;  and  an  end  of  it!"  he  cried  once.  And 
again,  "If  it  comes  to  swinging,  swing  all,  say  I." 

Then  all  of  a  sudden  there  was  an  explosion  of  oaths;  the  chair 
and  table  went  over  in  a  lump,  a  clash  of  steel  followed,  and  then  a 
cry  of  pain,  and  the  next  instant  I  saw  Black  Dog  in  full  flight,  and 
the  captain  hotly  pursuing,  both  with  drawn  cutlasses.  Just  at  the 
door  the  captain  aimed  at  the  fugitive  one  last  tremendous  cut,  which 
would  certainly  have  split  him  to  the  chine  had  it  not  been  intercepted 
by  our  big  signboard  of  Admiral  Benbow. 

That  blow  was  the  last  of  the  battle.  Once  out  upon  the  road, 
Black  Dog  showed  a  wonderful  clean  pair  of  heels,  and  disappeared 
over  the  edge  of  the  hill  in  half  a  minute.  The  captain  stood  staring 
at  the  signboard  like  a  bewildered  man.  Then  he  passed  his  hand 
over  his  eyes  and  turned  back  into  the  house.  "Jim,"  says  he,  "rum"; 
and  as  he  spoke  he  reeled  a  little,  and  caught  himself  with  one  hand 
against  the  wall. — "Are  you  hurt?"  cried  I. — "Rum,"  he  repeated,  "I 
must  get  away  from  here.     Rum !  rum !" 

I  ran  to  fetch  it,  but  I  was  quite  unsteadied  by  all  that  had  fallen 
out,  and  while  I  was  still  getting  in  my  own  way,  I  heard  a  loud  fall  in 


TREASURE    ISLAND  I  I 

the  parlor,  and,  running  in,  beheld  the  captain  lying  full  length  upon 
the  floor.  At  the  same  instant  my  mother,  alarmed  by  the  cries  and 
fighting,  came  running  down-stairs  to  help  me.  Between  us  we  raised 
his  head.  He  was  breathing  very  loud  and  hard,  and  his  face  was  a 
horrible  color.  "Dear,  deary  me!"  cried  my  mother,  "what  a  disgrace 
upon  the  house.     And  your  poor  father  sick." 

In  the  meantime  we  had  no  idea  what  to  do  to  help  the  captain, 
nor  any  other  thought  but  that  he  had  got  his  death-hurt  in  the 
scuffle  with  the  stranger.  I  got  the  rum,  and  tried  to  put  it  down  his 
throat,  but  his  teeth  were  tightly  shut,  and  his  jaws  as  strong  as  iron. 
It  was  a  happy  relief  for  us  when  the  door  opened  and  Doctor  Livesey 
came  in,  on  his  visit  to  my  father.  "Oh,  doctor,"  we  cried,  "what 
shall  we  do?     Where  is  he  wounded?" 

"Wounded!"  said  the  doctor.  "No  more  wounded  than  you  or  I. 
The  man  has  had  a  stroke,  as  I  warned  him.  Now,  Mrs.  Hawkins, 
just  you  run  up-stairs  to  your  husband  and  tell  him,  if  possible,  nothing 
about  it.     Jim  here  will  get  me  a  basin." 

When  I  got  back  with  the  basin  the  doctor  had  already  ripped 
up  the  captain's  sleeve  and  exposed  his  great  sinewy  arm.  It  was 
tattooed  in  several  places.  "Here's  luck,"  "A  fair  wind,"  and  "Billy 
Bones,  his  fancy,"  were  very  neatly  executed  on  the  forearm;  and 
up  near  the  shoulder  there  was  a  sketch  of  a  gallows  and  a  man  hang- 
ing from  it — done,  as  I  thought,  with  great  spirit. 

"Prophetic,"  said  the  doctor,  touching  this  picture  with  his  finger. 
"And  now,  Master  Billy  Bones,  if  that  be  your  name,  we'll  have  a 
look  at  the  color  of  your  blood.  Jim,"  he  said,  "are  you  afraid  of 
blood?"— "No,  sir,"  said  I.— "Well,  then,"  said  he,  "you  hold  the 
basin,"  and  with  that  he  took  his  lancet  and  opened  a  vein. 

A  great  deal  of  blood  was  taken  before  the  captain  opened  his 
eyes  and  looked  mistily  about  him.  First  he  recognized  the  doctor 
with  a  frown;  then  his  glance  fell  upon  me,  and  he  looked  relieved. 
But  suddenly  his  color  changed,  and  he  tried  to  raise  himself,  crying: 


12  TREASURE    ISLAND 

"Where's  Black  Dog?" — "There  is  no  Black  Dog  here,"  said  the  doc- 
tor, "except  what  you  have  on  your  own  back.  You  have  been  drinking 
rum;  you  have  had  a  stroke,  as  I  told  you;  and  I  have  just  dragged 
you  headforemost  out  of  the  grave.     Now,  Mr.  Bones " 

"That's  not  my  name,"  he  interrupted. — "Much  I  care,"  returned 
the  doctor.  "It's  the  name  of  a  buccaneer  of  my  acquaintance  and  I 
call  you  by  it  for  the  sake  of  shortness,  and  what  I  have  to  say  to  you 
is  this:  One  glass  of  rum  won't  kill  you,  but  if  you  take  one  you'll 
take  another  and  another,  and  I  stake  my  wig  if  you  don't  break  off 
short,  you'll  die;  do  you  understand  that?  die,  and  go  to  your  own  place, 
like  the  man  in  the  Bible.  Come,  now,  make  an  effort.  I'll  help  you 
to  your  bed  for  once." 

Between  us,  we  managed  to  hoist  him  up-stairs,  and  laid  him  on 
his  bed,  where  his  head  fell  back  on  the  pillow.  "Now,  mind  you," 
said  the  doctor,  "I  clear  my  conscience — the  name  of  rum  for  you  is 
death."  And  with  that  he  went  off  to  see  my  father,  taking  me  with 
him  by  the  arm.  "This  is  nothing,"  he  said,  as  soon  as  he  had  closed 
the  door.  "I  have  drawn  blood  enough  to  keep  him  quiet  awhile;  he 
should  lie  for  a  week  where  he  is — that  is  the  best  thing  for  him  and 
you,  but  another  stroke  would  settle  him." 


CHAPTER    III 

THE   BLACK    SPOT 

About  noon  I  stopped  at  the  captain's  door  with  some  cooling 
drinks  and  medicines.  He  was  lying  very  much  as  we  had  left  him, 
and  he  seemed  both  weak  and  excited.  "Jim,"  he  said,  "you're  the 
only  one  here  that's  worth  anything;  and  you  know  I've  always  been 
good  to  you.  And  now  you  see,  mate,  I'm  pretty  low,  and  Jim,  you'll 
bring  me  one  noggin  of  rum,  now  won't  you,  matey?" — "The  doc- 
tor— "  I  began. 


TREASURE    ISLAND  13 

But  he  broke  in  cursing  the  doctor.  "Doctors  is  all  swabs,"  he 
said;  "and  that  doctor  there,  why,  what  do  he  know  about  seafaring 
men?  I  been  in  places  hot  as  pitch,  and  mates  dropping  round  with 
yellow  jack,  and  the  blessed  land  a-heaving  like  the  sea  with  earth- 
quakes— what  do  the  doctor  know  of  lands  like  that? — and  I  lived  on 
rum,  I  tell  you.  It's  been  meat  and  drink,  and  man  and  wife,  to  me;  and 
if  I'm  not  to  have  my  rum  now  I'm  a  poor  old  hulk  on  a  lee  shore. 
Look,  Jim,"  he  continued  in  the  pleading  tone,  "I  haven't  had  a  drop 
this  blessed  day.  If  I  don't  have  a  drain  o'  rum,  Jim,  I'll  have  the 
horrors;  I  seen  some  on  'em  already.  I  seen  old  Flint  in  the  corner 
there,  behind  you ;  as  plain  as  print,  I  seen  him ;  and  if  I  get  the  horrors, 
I'll  raise  Cain.  Your  doctor  hisself  said  one  glass  wouldn't  hurt  me. 
I'll  give  you  a  golden  guinea  for  a  noggin,  Jim." 

He  was  growing  more  and  more  excited,  and  this  alarmed  me, 
for  my  father,  who  was  very  low  that  day,  needed  quiet ;  besides,  I  was 
reassured  by  the  doctor's  words.  "I  want  none  of  your  money,"  said 
I,  "but  what  you  owe  my  father.    I'll  get  you  one  glass  and  no  more." 

When  I  brought  it  to  him  he  seized  it  greedily  and  drank  it  out. 
"Ay,  ay,"  said  he,  "that's  some  better,  sure  enough.  And  now,  matey, 
did  that  doctor  say  how  long  I  was  to  lie  here  in  this  old  berth?" — "A 
week  at  least,"  said  I. — "Thunder!"  he  cried,  "a  week!  I  can't  do 
that;  they'd  have  a  black  spot  on  me  by  then.  The  lubbers  is  going 
about  to  get  the  wind  of  me  this  blessed  moment;  lubbers  as  couldn't 
keep  what  they  got,  and  want  to  nail  what  is  another's.  Is  that  sea- 
manly  behavior,  now,  I  want  to  know?  But  I'm  a  saving  soul.  I 
never  wasted  good  money  of  mine,  and  I'll  trick  'em  again.  I'll  shake 
out  another  reef,  matey,  and  daddle  'em  again." 

As  he  was  speaking,  he  had  risen  from  bed  with  great  difficulty, 
holding  my  shoulder  with  a  grip  that  almost  made  me  cry  out,  and 
moving  his  legs  like  so  much  dead  weight.  He  paused  when  he  had  got 
into  a  sitting  position  on  the  edge.  "That  doctor's  done  me,"  he  mur- 
mured.   "My  ears  is  singing.    Lay  me  back."    Before  I  could  do  much 


14  TREASURE    ISLAND 

to  help  him  he  had  fallen  back  again  to  his  former  place,  where  he  lay 
for  awhile  silent. 

"Jim,"  he  said,  at  length,  "you  saw  that  seafaring  man  to-day?" 
— "Black  Dog?"  I  asked. — "Ah!  Black  Dog,"  said  he.  "He's  a  bad 
'un;  but  there's  worse  that  put  him  on.  Now,  if  I  can't  get  away 
nohow,  and  they  tip  me  the  black  spot,  mind  you,  it's  my  old  sea-chest 
they're  after;  you  get  on  a  horse — you  can,  can't  you?  Well,  then, 
you  get  on  a  horse  and  go  to — to  that  eternal  doctor  swab,  and  tell  him 
to  pipe  all  hands — magistrates  and  sich — and  he'll  lay  'em  aboard  at 
the  Admiral  Benbow — all  old  Flint's  crew,  man  and  boy,  all  on  'em 
that's  left.  I  was  first  mate,  I  was,  old  Flint's  first  mate,  and  I'm  the 
on'y  one  as  knows  the  place.  He  gave  it  me  to  Savannah,  when  he 
lay  a-dying.  But  you  won't  peach  unless  they  get  the  black  spot  on 
me,  or  unless  you  see  that  Black  Dog  again,  or  a  seafaring  man  with 
one  leg,  Jim — him  above  all." — "But  what  is  the  black  spot,  captain?" 
I  asked. — "That's  a  summons,  mate.  I'll  tell  you  if  they  get  that. 
But  you  keep  your  weather-eye  open,  Jim,  and  I'll  share  with  you 
equals,  upon  my  honor." 

He  wandered  a  little  longer,  his  voice  growing  weaker;  but  soon 
after  I  had  given  him  his  medicine,  he  fell  into  a  heavy  sleep,  in  which 
I  left  him.  What  I  should  have  done  had  all  gone  well  I  do  not 
know.  But  as  things  fell  out,  my  poor  father  died  quite  suddenly 
that  evening,  which  put  all  other  matters  on  one  side.  Our  natural 
distress,  the  visits  of  the  neighbors,  the  arranging  of  the  funeral,  and 
all  the  work  of  the  inn  to  be  carried  on  in  the  meanwhile,  kept  me  so 
busy  that  I  had  scarcely  time  to  think  of  the  captain,  far  less  to  be 
afraid  of  him. 

He  got  down-stairs  next  morning,  and  had  his  meals  as  usual, 
though  he  eat  little,  and  had  more,  I  am  afraid,  than  his  usual  supply 
of  rum,  for  he  helped  himself  out  of  the  bar,  scowling  and  blowing 
through  his  nose,  and  no  one  dared  to  cross  him.  Weak  as  he  was, 
we  were  all  in  fear  of  death  for  him,  and  the  doctor  was  suddenly 


TREASURE    ISLAND  15 

taken  up  with  a  case  many  miles  away,  and  was  never  near  the  house 
after  my  father's  death.  The  captain  was  weak,  and  seemed  rather 
to  grow  weaker  than  to  regain  his  strength.  He  clambered  up  and 
down-stairs,  and  went  from  the  parlor  to  the  bar  and  back  again,  and 
sometimes  put  his  nose  out-of-doors  to  smell  the  sea.  He  never 
addressed  me,  but  his  temper  was  more  flighty,  and,  allowing  for  his 
bodily  weakness,  more  violent  than  ever.  He  had  an  alarming  way, 
now,  when  he  was  drunk,  of  drawing  his  cutlass  and  laying  it  bare 
before  him  on  the  table.  But,  with  all  that,  he  minded  people  less, 
and  seemed  shut  up  in  his  own  thoughts  and  rather  wandering.  Once 
he  piped  up  to  a  different  air,  a  kind  of  country  love-song,  that  he 
must  have  learned  in  his  youth  before  he  had  begun  to  follow  the  sea. 

So  things  passed  until  the  day  after  the  funeral  and  about  three 
o'clock  of  a  bitter,  foggy,  frosty  afternoon,  I  was  standing  at  the 
door,  when  I  saw  some  one  drawing  slowly  near  along  the  road.  He 
wTas  plainly  blind,  for  he  tapped  before  him  with  a  stick,  and  wore  a 
great  green  shade  over  his  eyes  and  nose;  and  he  was  hunched,  as  if 
with  age  or  weakness,  and  wore  a  huge  old  tattered  sea-cloak  with  a 
hood  that  made  him  appear  deformed.  He  stopped  a  little  from  the 
inn,  and  raising  his  voice  in  an  old  sing-song,  addressed  the  air  in 
front  of  him.  "Will  any  kind  friend  inform  a  poor  blind  man,  who 
has  lost  the  precious  sight  of  his  eyes  in  the  gracious  defense  of  his 
native  country,  England,  and  God  bless  King  George! — where  or  in 
what  part  of  this  country  he  may  now  be?" — "You  are  at  the  Admiral 
Benbow,  Black  Hill  Cove,"  said  I. — "I  hear  a  voice,"  said  he,  "a  young 
voice.  Will  you  give  me  your  hand,  my  kind  young  friend,  and  lead 
me  in  f 

I  held  out  my  hand,  and  the  horrible  eyeless  creature  gripped  it  in 
a  moment  like  a  vise.  I  was  so  much  startled  that  I  struggled  to  with- 
draw, but  the  blind  man  pulled  me  close  up  to  him  with  a  single  action 
of  his  arm.  "Now,  boy,"  he  said,  "take  me  in  to  the  captain." — "Sir," 
said  I,  "upon  my  word  I  dare  not." — "Oh,"  lie  sneered,  "that's  it! 


16  TREASURE    ISLAND 

Take  me  in  straight,  or  I'll  break  your  arm."  He  gave  it,  as  he 
spoke,  a  wrench  that  made  me  cry  out. 

"Sir,"  said  I,  "it  is  for  yourself  I  mean.  The  captain  is  not  what 
he  used  to  be.     He  sits  with  a  drawn  cutlass.  Another  gentleman " 

"Come,  now,  march,"  interrupted  he,  and  I  never  heard  a  voice 
so  cruel,  and  cold,  and  ugly,  as  that  blind  man's.  I  began  to  obey  him 
at  once,  walking  straight  in  at  the  door  and  toward  the  parlor,  where 
the  sick  old  buccaneer  was  sitting,  dazed  with  rum.  The  blind  man 
clung  close  to  me,  holding  me  in  one  iron  fist. — "Lead  me  straight  up 
to  him,  and  when  I'm  in  view,  cry  out,  'Here's  a  friend  for  you,  Bill.' 
If  you  don't,  I'll  do  this,"  and  with  that  he  gave  me  a  twitch  that  I 
thought  would  have  made  me  faint.  I  was  so  terrified  by  the  blind 
beggar  that  I  forgot  my  terror  of  the  captain,  and  as  I  opened  the 
parlor  door,  cried  out  the  words  he  had  ordered  in  a  trembling  voice. 

The  captain  raised  his  eyes,  and  at  one  look  the  rum  went  out  of 
him  and  left  him  staring  sober.  He  made  a  movement  to  rise,  but  I 
do  not  believe  he  had  enough  force  left  in  his  body. — "Now,  Bill,  sit 
where  you  are,"  said  the  beggar.  "If  I  can't  see,  I  can  hear  a  finger 
stirring.  Business  is  business.  Hold  out  your  left  band.  Boy.  take 
his  left  hand  by  the  wrist  and  bring  it  near  to  my  right."  We  both 
obeyed  him  to  the  letter,  and  I  saw  him  pass  something  from  the  hollow 
of  the  hand  that  held  his  stick  into  the  palm  of  the  captain's,  which 
closed  upon  it  instantly. 

"And  now  that's  done,"  said  the  blind  man,  and  at  the  words  he 
suddenly  left  hold  of  me,  and  with  incredible  accuracy  and  nimbleness, 
skipped  out  of  the  parlor  and  into  the  road,  where,  as  I  stood  motion- 
less, I  could  hear  his  stick  go  tap-tap-tapping  into  the  distance. 

It  was  some  time  before  either  I  or  the  captain  seemed  to  gather 
our  senses;  but  at  length,  and  about  the  same  moment,  I  released  his 
wrist,  which  I  was  still  holding,  and  he  drew  in  his  hand,  and  looked 
sharply  into  the  palm.  "Ten  o'clock!"  he  cried.  "Six  hours!  We'll 
do  them  yet!"  and  be  sprang  to  his  feet.     Even  as  he  did  so,  he  reeled. 


TREASURE    ISLAND  17 

put  his  hand  to  his  throat,  stood  swaying-  for  a  moment,  and  then,  with 
a  peculiar  sound,  fell  face  foremost  to  the  floor.  I  ran  to  him,  calling 
my  mother.  But  haste  was  all  in  vain.  The  captain  had  heen  struck 
dead  by  apoplexy. 


CHAPTER    IV 

THE    SEA-CHEST 

I  lost  no  time  in  telling  my  mother  all  that  I  knew,  and  we  saw 
ourselves  at  once  in  a  difficult  and  dangerous  position.  Some  of  the 
man's  money  was  certainly  due  to  us,  but  it  was  not  likely  that  our  cap- 
tain's shipmates  would  be  inclined  to  give  up  their  booty  in  payment 
of  the  dead  man's  debts.  The  captain's  order  to  mount  at  once  and 
ride  for  Doctor  Livesey  would  have  left  my  mother  alone  and  unpro- 
tected, which  was  not  to  be  thought  of.  Indeed,  it  seemed  impossible 
for  either  of  us  to  remain  much  longer  in  the  house ;  the  fall  of  coals 
in  the  kitchen  grate,  the  very  ticking  of  the  clock,  filled  us  with  alarm. 

The  neighborhood,  to  our  ears,  seemed  haunted  by  approaching 
footsteps ;  and  what  between  the  dead  body  of  the  captain  on  the  parlor 
floor  and  the  thought  of  that  blind  beggar  hovering  near  at  hand,  there 
were  moments  when  I  jumped  in  my  skin  for  terror.  Something  must 
speedily  be  resolved  upon,  and  it  occurred  to  us  to  seek  help  in  the 
neighboring  hamlet.  No  sooner  said  than  done.  Bareheaded  as  we 
were,  we  ran  out  in  the  gathering  evening  and  the  frosty  fog. 

The  hamlet  lay  some  hundred  yards  away  on  the  other  side  of  the 
next  cove,  in  an  opposite  direction  from  that  whence  the  blind  man  had 
made  his  appearance,  and  whither  he  had  presumably  returned.  We 
were  not  many  minutes  on  the  road,  though  we  sometimes  stopped  to 
harken.  But  there  was  no  unusual  sound — nothing  but  the  low  wash 
of  the  ripple  and  the  croaking  of  the  crows  in  the  wood. 

It  was  already  candle-light  when  we  reached  the  hamlet,  and  I 


18  TREASURE    ISLAND 

shall  never  forget  how  much  I  was  cheered  to  see  the  yellow  shine  in 
doors  and  windows;  but  that,  as  it  proved,  was  the  best  help  we  were 
likely  to  get  in  that  quarter.  For  no  soul  would  consent  to  return 
with  us.  The  more  we  told  of  our  troubles,  the  more  they  clung  to  the 
shelter  of  their  houses.  The  name  of  Captain  Flint  was  well  enough 
known  to  some  there,  and  carried  a  great  weight  of  terror.  Some  of 
the  men  remembered,  besides,  to  have  seen  several  strangers  on  the 
road,  and,  taking  them  to  be  smugglers,  to  have  bolted  away;  and  one 
at  least  had  seen  a  little  lugger  in  what  we  call  Kitt's  Hole.  And 
the  short  and  the  long  of  the  matter  was,  that  while  we  could  get  sev- 
eral who  were  willing  enough  to  ride  to  Doctor  Livesey's,  not  one 
would  help  us  to  defend  the  inn. 

They  say  cowardice  is  infectious;  but  then  argument  is  a  great 
emboldener;  and  so  when  each  had  his  say,  my  mother  made  them  a 
speech.  She  would  not,  she  declared,  lose  money  that  belonged  to  her 
fatherless  bo}\  "If  none  of  the  rest  of  you  dare,"  said  she,  "Jim  and 
I  dare.  Back  we  will  go,  the  way  we  came,  and  small  thanks  to  you 
big,  hulking,  chicken-hearted  men !  We'll  have  that  chest  open,  if  we 
die  for  it.  And  I'll  thank  you  for  that  bag,  Mrs.  Crossley,  to  bring 
back  our  lawful  money  in." 

Of  course  I  said  I  would  go  with  my  mother ;  and  of  course  they 
all  cried  out  at  our  f oolhardiness ;  but  all  they  would  do  was  to  give 
me  a  loaded  pistol,  and  to  promise  to  have  horses  ready  saddled,  in 
case  we  were  pursued  on  our  return ;  while  one  lad  was  to  ride  forward 
to  the  doctor's  in  search  of  armed  assistance.  My  heart  was  beating 
fiercely  when  we  set  forth.  A  full  moon  was  beginning  to  rise,  and 
it  was  plain,  before  we  came  forth  again,  thai  all  would  be  bright  as 
day,  and  our  departure  exposed  to  the  eyes  of  any  watchers.  We 
slipped  along  the  hedges,  nor  did  we  see  or  hear  anything  till,  to  our 
huge  relief,  the  door  of  the  Admiral  Benbow  had  closed  behind  us. 
I  slipped  the  bolt  at  once,  and  we  stood  and  panted  for  a  moment  in 
the  dark,  alone  in  the  house  with  the  dead  captain's  body.     Then  my 


TREASURE    ISLAND 


19 


Page  30. 


20  TREASURE    ISLAND 

mother  got  a  candle  and  we  advanced  into  the  parlor.  He  lay  as  we 
had  left  him,  on  his  back  with  his  eyes  open,  and  one  arm  stretched  out. 

"Draw  clown  the  blind,  Jim,"  whispered  my  mother;  "they  might 
come  and  watch  outside.  And  now,"  said  she,  when  I  had  done  so, 
"we  have  to  get  the  key."  I  went  down  on  my  knees  at  once.  On  the 
floor  close  to  his  hand  there  was  a  little  round  of  paper,  blackened  on 
one  side.  I  could  not  doubt  that  this  was  the  black  spot;  and,  taking 
it  up,  I  found  written  on  the  other  side,  "You  have  till  ten  to-night." 
"He  had  till  ten,  mother,"  said  I;  and,  just  as  I  said  it,  our  old  clock 
began  striking.  It  was  only  six. — "Now,  Jim,"  she  said,  "that  key!" 
I  felt  in  his  pockets,  one  after  another.  A  few  small  coins,  a  thimble, 
and  some  thread  and  needles,  a  piece  of  pigtail  tobacco,  a  pocket  com- 
pass, and  a  tinder-box,  were  all  that  they  contained,  and  I  began  to 
despair. — "Perhaps  it's  round  his  neck,"  suggested  my  mother.  I 
tore  open  his  shirt  at  the  neck,  and  there,  sure  enough,  hanging  to  a 
bit  of  tarry  string,  we  found  the  key.  At  this  triumph  we  were  filled 
with  hope,  and  hurried  up-stairs  to  the  little  room  where  his  box  had 
stood  since  the  day  of  his  arrival. 

"Give  me  the  key,"  said  my  mother,  and  though  the  lock  was  very 
stiff,  she  had  turned  it  and  thrown  back  the  lid  in  a  twinkling.  A 
strong  smell  of  tobacco  and  tar  arose  from  the  interior,  but  nothing 
was  to  be  seen  on  the  top  except  a  suit  of  very  good  clothes,  carefully 
brushed  and  folded.  Under  that  the  miscellany,  began — a  quadrant, 
several  sticks  of  tobacco,  two  brace  of  very  handsome  pistols,  a  piece 
of  bar  silver,  and  some  trinkets  of  little  value,  a  pair  of  compasses 
mounted  with  brass,  and  five  or  six  curious  West  Indian  shells.  Un- 
derneath there  was  an  old  boat-cloak,  whitened  with  sea-salt  on  many 
a  harbor-bar.  My  mother  pulled  it  up  with  impatience,  and  there 
lay  before  us,  a  bundle  tied  up  in  oil-cloth,  and  looking  like  papers, 
and  a  canvas  bag  that  gave  forth,  at  a  touch,  the  jingle  of  gold. 

"I'll  show  those  rogues  that  I'm  an  honest  woman,"  said  my 
mother.     "I'll  have  my  dues  and  not  a  farthing  over.     Hold  Mrs, 


TREASURE    ISLAND  21 

Crossley's  bag."  And  she  began  to  count  over  the  amount  of  the 
captain's  score  from  the  sailor's  bag  into  the  one  that  I  was  holding. 

When  we  were  about  half-way  through,  I  suddenly  put  my  hand 
upon  her  arm,  for  I  had  heard  in  the  silent  air  a  sound  that  brought 
my  heart  into  my  mouth — the  tap-tapping  of  the  blind  man's  stick 
upon  the  frozen  road.  It  drew  nearer  and  nearer,  while  we  sat  hold- 
ing our  breath.  Then  it  struck  sharp  on  the  inn  door,  and  then  we 
coidd  hear  the  handle  being  turned,  and  the  bolt  rattling  as  the 
wretched  being  tried  to  enter;  and  then  there  was  a  long  time  of 
silence.  At  last  the  tapping  recommenced,  and  to  ou.r  joy,  died  slowly 
away  again. 

"Mother,"  said  I,  "take  the  whole  and  let's  be  going."  But  my 
mother,  frightened  as  she  was,  would  not  consent  to  take  a  fraction 
more  than  was  due  to  her.  It  was  not  yet  seven,  she  said,  and  she  was 
still  arguing  with  me,  when  a  little  low  whistle  sounded  a  good  way 
off  upon  the  hill.  That  was  enough,  and  more  than  enough,  for  both 
of  us.  "I'll  take  what  I  have,"  she  said,  jumping  to  her  feet. — "And 
I'll  take  this  to  square  the  count,"  said  I,  picking  up  the  oilskin  packet. 

Next  moment  we  were  both  groping  down-stairs,  leaving  the 
candle  by  the  empty  chest;  and  the  next  we  had  opened  the  door  and 
were  in  full  retreat.  We  had  not  started  a  moment  too  soon.  The 
fog  was  rapidly  dispersing ;  already  the  moon  shone  quite  clear  on  the 
high  ground  on  either  side,. and  it  was  only  in  the  exact  bottom  of  the 
dell  and  round  the  tavern  door  that  a  thin  veil  still  hung.  Far  less 
than  half-way  to  the  hamlet,  very  little  beyond  the  bottom  of  the  hill, 
we  must  come  forth  into  the  moonlight.  Nor  was  this  all;  for  the 
sound  of  several  footsteps  running  came  to  our  ears,  and  as  we  looked 
back,  a  light,  rapidly  advancing,  showed  that  one  of  the  newcomers 
carried  a  lantern. 

"My  dear,"  said  my  mother  suddenly,  "take  the  money  and  run 
on.  I  am  going  to  faint."  We  were  just  at  the  little  bridge,  and  I 
helped  her  to  the  edge  of  the  bank,  where,  sure  enough,  she  fell  on  my 


22  TREASURE    ISLAND 

shoulder.  I  do  not  know  how  I  found  the  strength  to  do  it,  but  I 
managed  to  drag  her  down  the  bank  and  a  little  way  under  the  arch. 
Farther  I  could  not  move  her;  so  there  we  had  to  stay — my  mother 
almost  entirely  exposed,  and  both  of  us  within  ear-shot  of  the  inn. 


CHAPTER    V 

THE    EAST    OF    THE    BLIND    MAN 

My  curiosity  was  stronger  than  my  fear;  for  I  could  not  remain 
where  I  was,  but  crept  back  to  the  bank  again,  whence  I  might  com- 
mand the  road  before  our  door.  I  was  scarcely  in  position  ere  my 
enemies  began  to  arrive,  seven  or  eight  of  them,  running  hard,  the 
man  with  the  lantern  some  paces  in  front.  Three  men  ran  together, 
hand  in  hand ;  and  I  made  out  that  the  middle  man  of  this  trio  was  the 
blind  beggar.  The  next  moment  his  voice  showed  me  that  I  was  right. 
"Down  with  the  door!"  he  cried. — "Ay,  ay,  sir!"  answered  two  or 
three;  and  a  rush  was  made  upon  the  Admiral  Benbow,  the  lantern- 
bearer  following;  and  then  I  could  see  them  pause,  as  if  they  were 
surprised  to  find  the  door  open.  But  the  pause  was  brief,  for  the 
blind  man  again  issued  his  commands.  His  voice  sounded  louder  and 
higher,  as  if  he  were  afire  with  eagerness  and  rage.  "In,  in,  in!"  he 
shouted,  and  cursed  them  for  their  delay. 

Four  or  five  of  them  obeyed  at  once.  There  was  a  pause,  then 
a  cry  of  surprise,  and  then  a  voice  shouting  from  the  house:  "Bill's 
dead!"  But  the  blind  man  swore  at  them  again  for  their  delay. 
"Search  him,  some  of  you  shirking  lubbers,  and  the  rest  of  you  aloft 
and  get  the  chest,"  he  cried. 

I  could  hear  their  feet  rattling  up  our  old  stairs,  so  that  the  house 
must  have  shook  with  it.  Promptly  afterward  fresh  sounds  of  aston- 
ishment arose;  the  window  of  the  captain's  room  was  thrown  open 


TREASURE    ISLAND  23 

with  a  slam,  and  a  man  leaned  out  into  the  moonlight,  head  and  shoul- 
ders, and  addressed  the  Wind  beggar  on  the  road  below  him.  "Pew!" 
he  cried,  "they've  been  before  us.  Some  one's  turned  the  chest  out 
alow  and  aloft." — "Is  it  there?"  roared  Pew. — "The  money's  there." 
— The  blind  man  cursed  the  money.  "Flint's  fist,  I  mean,"  he  cried. 
• — "We  don't  see  it  here,  nohow,"  returned  the  man. — "Here,  you 
below  here,  is  it  on  Bill?"  cried  the  blind  man  again.  At  that  another 
fellow,  probably  him  who  had  remained  below  to  search  the  captain's 
body,  came  to  the  door  of  the  inn. — "Bill's  been  overhauled  a'ready," 
said  he,  "nothin'  left." — "It's  these  people  of  the  inn — it's  that  boy. 
I  wish  I  had  put  his  eyes  out!"  cried  the  blind  man.  "They  were  here 
no  time  ago — they  had  the  door  bolted  when  I  tried  it.  Scatter,  lads, 
and  find  'em." — "Sure  enough,  they  left  their  glim  here,"  said  the 
fellow  from  the  window. — "Scatter  and  find  'em!  Rout  the  house 
out!"  reiterated  Pew,  striking  with  his  stick  upon  the  road. 

Then  there  followed  a  great  to-do  through  all  our  old  inn,  heavy 
feet  pounding  to  and  fro,  furniture  all  thrown  over,  doors  kicked  in, 
until  the  very  rocks  re-echoed,  and  the  men  came  out  again,  one  after 
another,  on  the  road,  and  declared  that  we  were  nowhere  to  be  found. 
Just  then  the  same  whistle  that  had  alarmed  my  mother  and  myself 
was  clearly  audible  through  the  night,  but  this  time  twice  repeated.  I 
had  thought  it  to  be  the  blind  man  summoning  his  crew  to  the  assault ; 
but  I  now  found  that  it  was  a  signal  from  the  hillside  toward  the 
hamlet,  and  from  its  effect  upon  the  buccaneers,  a  signal  to  warn  them 
of  approaching  danger. — "There's  Dirk  again,"  said  one. — "Twice! 
We'll  have  to  budge,  mates." — "Budge,  you  skulk!"  cried  Pew. 
"Dirk  was  a  fool  and  a  coward  from  the  first — you  wouldn't  mind 
him.  They  must  be  close  by;  scatter  and  look  for  them,  dogs.  Oh, 
shiver  my  soul,"  he  cried,  "if  I  had  eyes!" 

This  apjieal  seemed  to  produce  some  effect,  for  two  of  the  fellows 
began  to  look  here  and  there  among  the  lumber,  but  half-heartedly, 
and  with  half  an  eye  to  their  own  danger  all  the  time,  while  the  rest 


24  TREASURE    ISLAND 

stood  irresolute  on  the  road. — "You  have  your  hands  on  thousands, 
you  fools,  and  you  hang  a  leg!  You'd  be  as  rich  as  kings  if  you 
could  find  it,  and  you  know  it's  here,  and  you  stand  there  malingering. 
There  wasn't  one  of  you  dared  face  Bill,  and  I  did  it — a  blind  man! 
And  I'm  to  lose  my  chance  for  you!  I'm  to  be  a  poor,  crawling 
beggar,  sponging  for  rum,  when  I  might  be  rolling  in  a  coach!  If 
you  had  the  pluck  of  a  weevil  in  a  biscuit,  you  would  catch  them  still." 
— "Hang  it,  Pew,  we've  got  the  doubloons!"  grumbled  one. — "They 
might  have  hid  the  blessed  thing,"  said  another. — "Take  the  Georges, 
Pew,  and  don't  stand  here  squalling." 

Squalling  was  the  word  for  it;  Pew's  anger  rose  so  high  at  these 
objections,  till  at  last  he  struck  at  them  right  and  left  in  his  blindness, 
and  his  stick  sounded  heavily  on  more  than  one.  These,  in  their  turn, 
threatened  him  in  horrid  terms,  and  tried  to  catch  the  stick  and  wrest 
it  from  his  grasp. 

This  quarrel  was  the  saving  of  us;  for  while  it  was  still  raging, 
another  sound  came  from  the  top  of  the  hill  on  the  side  of  the  hamlet 
— the  tramp  of  horses  galloping.  Almost  at  the  same  time  a  pistol- 
shot  came  from  the  hedge-side.  And  that  was  plainly  the  last  signal 
of  danger,  for  the  buccaneers  turned  at  once  and  ran,  one  seaward 
along  the  cove,  one  slant  across  the  hill,  and  so  on,  so  that  in  half  a 
minute  not  a  sign  of  them  remained  but  Pew.  Him  they  had  deserted, 
and  there  he  remained,  tapping  up  and  down  the  road  in  a  frenzy, 
and  calling  for  his  comrades.  Finally  he  took  the  wrong  turn,  and 
ran  a  few  steps  past  me,  toward  the  hamlet,  crying,  "Johnny,  Black 
Dog,  Dirk,"  and  other  names,  "you  won't  leave  old  Pew,  mates — not 
old  Pew?" 

Just  then  the  noise  of  horses  topped  the  rise,  and  four  or  five 
riders  came  in  sight,  and  swept  down  the  slope.  At  this  Pew  saw  his 
error,  turned  with  a  scream,  and  ran  straight  for  the  ditch,  into  which 
he  rolled.  But  he  was  on  his  feet  again  in  a  second,  and  made  another 
dash,  now  utterly  bewildered,  right  under  the  nearest  of  the  coming 


TREASURE    ISLAND  25 

horses.  The  rider  tried  to  save  him,  but  in  vain.  Down  went  Pew, 
and  the  four  hoofs  trampled  him  and  passed  by.  He  fell  on  his  side, 
and  moved  no  more.  I  leaped  to  my  feet  and  hailed  the  riders. 
They  were  pulling  up,  and  I  soon  saw  what  they  were.  One  was  a 
lad  that  had  gone  from  the  hamlet  to  Doctor  Livesey's ;  the  rest  were 
revenue  officers,  whom  he  had  met  by  the  way.  Some  news  of  the 
lugger  in  Kitt's  Hole  had  found  its  way  to  Supervisor  Dance,  and 
sent  him  forth  that  night  in  our  direction,  and  to.  that  circumstance 
my  mother  and  I  owed  our  preservation  from  death. 

Pew  was  dead,  stone  dead.  As  for  my  mother,  when  we  had 
carried  her  up  to  the  hamlet,  a  little  cold  water  and  salts  very  soon 
brought  her  back  again,  and  she  was  none  the  worse  for  her  terror, 
though  she  still  continued  to  deplore  the  balance  of  the  money. 

In  the  meantime  the  supervisor  rode  on  to  Kitt's  Hole;  but  his 
men  had  to  dismount  and  grope  down  the  dingle,  in  continual  fear 
of  ambushers;  so  it  was  no  great  matter  for  surprise  that  when  we 
got  down  the  lugger  was  already  under  way;  He  hailed  her.  A 
voice  replied,  telling  him  to  keep  out  of  the  moonlight,  or  he  would  get 
some  lead  in  him,  and  at  the  same  time  a  bullet  whistled  close  by  his 
arm.     Soon  after  the  lugger  doubled  the  point  and  disappeared.     All 

he  could  do  was  to  dispatch  a  man  to  B to  warn  the  cutter.    "And 

that,"  said  he,  "is  just  about  as  good  as  nothing.  They've  got  off 
clean,  and  there's  an  end.  Only,"  he  added,  "I'm  glad  I  trod  on 
Master  Pew's  corns," — for  by  this  time  he  had  heard  my  story. 

I  went  back  with  him  to  the  Admiral  Benbow,  and  you  can  not 
imagine  a  house  in  such  a  state  of  smash;  the  very  clock  had  been 
thrown  down  in  the  furious  hunt,  and  though  nothing  had  actually 
been  taken  away  except  the  captain's  money-bag  and  a  little  silver 
from  the  till,  I  could  see  at  once  that  we  were  ruined.  Mr.  Dance 
could  make  nothing  of  the  scene. 

"They  got  the  money,  you  say?  Well,  then,  Hawkins,  what  in 
fortune  were  they  after?     More  money,  I  suppose?" — "No,  sir;  not 


26  TREASURE    ISLAND 

money,  I  think,"  replied  I. — "I  believe  I  have  the  thing  in  my  breast- 
pocket; and,  to  tell  yon  the  truth,  I  should  like  to  get  it  put  in  safety." 
-"To  be  sure,  boy;  quite  right,"  said  he.  "I'll  take  it,  if  you  like." — 
"I  thought,  perhaps,  Doctor  Livesey — "  I  began. — "Perfectly  right," 
he  interrupted,  "perfectly  right — a  gentleman  and  a  magistrate. 
And,  now  I  come  to  think  of  it,  I  might  as  well  ride  round  there 
myself  and  report  to  him  or  squire.  Master  Pew's  dead,  when  all's 
done;  not  that  I  regret  it,  but  he's  dead,  you  see,  and  people  will  make 
it  out  against  an  officer  of  his  majesty's  revenue,  if  make  it  out  they 
can.  Now,  I'll  tell  you,  Hawkins,  if  you  like,  I'll  take  you  along." 
I  thanked  him  for  the  offer,  and  we  walked  back  to  the  hamlet  where 
the  horses  were.  By  the  time  I  had  told  mother  of  my  purpose  they 
were  all  in  the  saddle. 

"Dogger,"  said  Mr.  Dance,  "you  have  a  good  horse;  take  up 
this  lad  behind  you."  As  soon  as  I  was  mounted,  the  supervisor  gave 
the  word,  and  the  party  struck  out  at  a  bouncing  trot  on  the  road  to 
Doctor  Livesey's  house. 


CHAPTER    VI 

THE    CAPTAIN'S    PAPERS 

We  rode  hard  all  the  way,  till  we  drew  up  before  Doctor  Livesey's 
door.  The  house  was  all  dark  in  front.  Dance  told  me  to  jump 
down  and  knock,  and  Dogger  gave  me  a  stirrup  to  descend  by.  The 
door  was  opened  by  the  maid.  "Is  Doctor  Livesey  in?"  I  asked. — 
"No,"  she  said.  He  had  gone  up  to  the  Hall  to  dine  and  pass  the 
evening  with  the  squire. — "So  there  we  go,  boys,"  said  Mr.  Dance. 

This  time,  as  the  distance  was  short,  I  did  not  mount,  but  ran  to 
the  lodge  gates,  and  up  the  long,  moonlit  avenue  to  where  the  white 
line  of  the  Hall  buildings  looked  on  either  hand  on  great  old  gardens. 


TREASURE    ISLAND  11 

Here  Dance  dismounted,  and  taking  me  along  with  him,  was  admitted 
at  a  word  into  the  house. 

The  servant  led  us  down  a  matted  passage,  and  showed  us  at  the 
end  into  a  great  library,  all  lined  with  book-cases,  where  the  squire 
and  Doctor  Livesey  sat,  pipe  in  hand,  on  either  side  of  the  bright  fire. 
I  had  never  seen  the  squire  so  near  at  hand.  He  was  a  tall  man,  over 
six  feet  high,  and  he  had  a  bluff  face,  all  roughened  and  lined  in  his 
long  travels.  His  eyebrows  were  very  black,  and  moved  readily,  and 
this  gave  him  a  look  of  some  temper,  not  bad,  you  would  say,  but  quick 
and  high.  "Come  in,  Mr.  Dance,"  said  he,  very  stately  and  con- 
descending. "Good-evening,  Dance,"  said  the  doctor,  with  a  nod. 
"And  good-evening  to  you,  friend  Jim.  What  good  wind  brings  you 
here?" 

The  supervisor  stood  up  straight  and  stiff,  and  told  his  story  like 
a  lesson;  and  you  should  have  seen  how  the  two  gentlemen  leaned 
forward  and  looked  at  each  other,  and  forgot  to  smoke  in  their  interest. 
When  they  heard  how  my  mother  went  back  to  the  inn,  Doctor  Live- 
sey fairly  slapped  his  thigh,  and  the  squire  cried  "Bravo."  Long 
before  it  was  done,  Mr.  Trelawney  (that  was  the  squire's  name)  had 
got  up  from  his  seat,  and  was  striding  about  the  room,  and  the  doctor, 
as  if  to  hear  the  better,  had  taken  off  his  powdered  wig,  and  sat  there, 
looking  very  strange  indeed  with  his  own  close-cropped,  black  poll. 
At  last  Dance  finished  the  story. 

"Dance,"  said  the  squire,  "you  are  a  very  noble  fellow.  And  as 
for  riding  down  that  black,  atrocious  miscreant,  I  regard  it  as  an  act 
of  virtue,  sir,  like  stamping  on  a  cockroach.  This  lad  Hawkins  is  a 
trump,  I  perceive.  Hawkins,  will  you  ring  that  bell?  Dance  must 
have  some  ale." 

"And  so,  Jim,"  said  the  doctor,  "you  have  the  thing  that  they 
were  after,  have  you?" — "Here  it  is,  sir,"  said  1,  and  gave  him  the  oil- 
skin packet.  The  doctor  looked  it  all  over,  as  if  his  fingers  were  itch- 
ing to  open  it;  but,  instead  of  doing  that,  he  put  it  quietly  in  the 


28  TREASURE    ISLAND 

pocket  of  his  coat. — "Squire,"  said  he,  "when  Dance  has  had  his  ale  he 
must,  of  course,  he  off  on  his  majesty's  service ;  but  I  mean  to  keep  Jim 
Hawkins  here  to  sleep  at  my  house,  and,  with  your  permission,  I  pro- 
pose we  should  have  up  the  cold  pie,  and  let  him  sup." — "As  you  will, 
Livesey,"  said  the  squire;  "Hawkins  has  earned  better  than  cold  pie." 
So  a  big  pigeon  pie  was  brought  in  and  put  on  a  side-table,  and  I  made 
a  hearty  supper,  for  I  was  as  hungry  as  a  hawk,  while  Dance  was 
further  complimented,  and  at  last  dismissed. 

"And  now,  squire,"  said  the  doctor. — "And  now,  Livesey,"  said 
the  squire,  in  the  same  breath. — "One  at  a  time,"  laughed  Doctor 
Livesey.  "You  have  heard  of  this  Flint,  I  suppose?" — "Heard  of 
him!"  cried  the  squire.  "He  was  the  bloodthirstiest  buccaneer  that 
sailed.  The  Spaniards  were  so  afraid  of  him  that  I  was  sometimes 
proud  he  was  an  Englishman." — "Well,  I've  heard  of  him  myself,  in 
England,"  said  the  doctor.  "But  the  point  is,  had  he  money?" — 
"Money!"  cried  the  squire.  "Have  you  heard  the  story?  What  were 
these  villains  after  but  money?  What  do  they  care  for  but  money? 
For  what  would  they  risk  their  rascal  carcasses  but  money?" — "That 
we  shall  soon  know,"  replied  the  doctor.  "But  you  are  so  confound- 
edly hot-headed  and  exclamatory  that  I  can  not  get  a  word  in.  What 
I  want  to  know  is  this:  Supposing  that  I  have  here  in  my  pocket 
some  clew  to  where  Flint  buried  his  treasure,  will  that  treasure  amount 
to  much?" — "Amount,  sir!"  cried  the  squire.  "It  will  amount  to  this: 
If  we  have  the  clew  you  talk  about,  I  fit  out  a  ship  in  Bristol  dock,  and 
take  you  and  Hawkins  here  along,  and  I'll  have  that  treasure  if  I 
search  a  year." — "Very  well,"  said  the  doctor.  "Now,  then,  if  Jim 
is  agreeable,  we'll  open  the  packet,"  and  he  laid  it  before  him  on  the 
table. 

The  bundle  was  sewn  together,  and  the  doctor  had  to  cut  the 
stitches  with  his  medical  scissors.  It  contained  two  things — a  book 
and  a  sealed  paper.  "First  of  all  we'll  try  the  book,"  observed  the 
doctor. 


TREASURE    ISLAND 


29 


Page  25. 


30  TREASURE    ISLAND 

On  the  first  page  there  were  only  some  scraps  of  writing,  such  as 
a  man  with  a  pen  in  his  hand  might  make  for  idleness  or  practice. 
One  was  the  same  as  the  tattoo  mark,  "Billy  Bones  his  fancy";  then 
there  was  "Mr.  W.  Bones,  mate,"  "No  more  rum,"  and  some  other 
snatches,  mostly  single  words. — "Not  much  instruction  there,"  said 
Doctor  Livesey,  as  he  passed  on. 

.The  next  ten  or  twelve  pages  were  filled  with  a  curious  series 
of  entries.  There  was  a  date  at  one  end  of  the  line  and  at  the  other  a 
sum  of  money,  as  in  common  account-books;  but  instead  of  explana- 
tory writing,  only  a  varying  number  of  crosses  between  the  two.  On 
the  12th  of  June,  1745,  for  instance,  a  sum  of  seventy  pounds  had 
plainly  become  due  to  some  one,  and  there  was  nothing  but  six  crosses 
to  explain  the  cause.  In  a  few  cases,  to  be  sure,  the  name  of  a  place 
would  be  added,  as  "Offe  Caraccas";  or  a  mere  entry  of  latitude  and 
longitude,  as  "62  deg.  17  min.  20  sec,  19  deg.  2  min.  40  sec."  The 
record  lasted  over  nearly  twenty  years,  the  amount  of  the  separate 
entries  growing  larger  as  time  went  on,  and  at  the  end  a  grand  total 
had  been  made  out,  and  these  words  appended,  "Bones  his  pile." 

"I  can't  make  head  or  tail  of  this,"  said  Doctor  Livesey. — "The 
thing  is  as  clear  as  noonday,"  cried  the  squire.  "This  is  the  black- 
hearted hound's  account-book.  These  crosses  stand  for  the  names  of 
ships  or  towns  that  they  sunk  or  plundered.  The  sums  are  the  scoun- 
drel's share,  and  where  he  feared  an  ambiguity,  you  see  he  added  some- 
thing clearer.  'Offe  Caraccas,'  now;  you  see  here  was  some  unhappy 
vessel  boarded  off  that  coast." — "Right!"  said  the  doctor.  "See  what 
it  is  to  be  a  traveler.  Right!  And  the  amounts  increase,  you  see,  as 
he  rose  in  rank."  There  was  little  else  in  the  volume  but  a  few  bear- 
ings of  places  noted  in  the  blank  leaves  toward  the  end,  and  a  table  for 
reducing  French,  English,  and  Spanish  moneys  to  a  common  value. 
"Thrifty  man!"  cried  the  doctor.  "He  wasn't  the  one  to  be  cheated." 
■ — "And  now,"  said  the  squire,  "for  the  other." 

The  paper  had  been  sealed  in  several  places.     The  doctor  opened 


TREASURE    ISLAND  31 

the  seals  with  great  care,  and  there  fell  out  the  map  of  an  island,  with 
latitude  and  longitude,  soundings,  names  of  hills  and  hays  and  inlets, 
and  every  particular  that  would  be  needed  to  bring  a  ship  to  a  safe 
anchorage  upon  its  shores.  It  was  about  nine  miles  long  and  five 
across,  and  had  two  fine  land-locked  harbors,  and  a  hill  in  the  center 
marked  "The  Spy-glass."  There  were  several  additions  of  a  later 
date;  but,  above  all,  three  crosses  of  red  ink,  two  on  the  north  part  of 
the  island,  one  in  the  southwest,  and,  beside  this  last,  in  the  same  red 
ink,  and  in  a  small,  neat  hand,  very  different  from  the  captain's  tot- 
tery characters,  these  words:  "Bulk  of  treasure  here."  Over  on  the 
back  the  same  hand  had  written  this  further  information: 

"Tall  tree,  Spy-glass  shoulder,  bearing  a  point  to  the  N.  of 
N.  N.  E. 

"Skeleton  Island  E.  S.  E.  and  by  E. 

"Ten  feet. 

"The  bar  silver  is  in  the  north  cache;  you  can  find  it  by  the  trend 
of  the  east  hummock,  ten  fathoms  south  of  the  black  crag  with  the 
face  on  it. 

"The  arms  are  easy  found,  in  the  sandhill,  N.  point  of  north  inlet 
cape,  bearing  E.  and  a  quarter  N.  J.  F." 

That  was  all,  but  brief  as  it  was,  it  filled  the  squire  and  Doctor 
Livesey  with  delight.  "Livesey,"  said  the  squire,  "you  will  give  up 
this  wretched  practice  at  once.  To-morrow  I  start  for  Bristol.  In 
three  weeks'  time — three  weeks! — two  weeks — ten  days — we'll  have 
the  best  ship,  sir,  and  the  choicest  crew  in  England.  Hawkins  shalli 
come  as  cabin-boy.  You'll  make  a  famous  cabin-boy,  Hawkins.  You, 
Livesey,  are  ship's  doctor;  I  am  admiral.  We'll  take  Redruth,  Joyce, 
and  Hunter.  We'll  have  favorable  winds  and  a  quick  passage,  and 
not  the  least  difficulty  in  finding  the  spot,  and  money  to  eat — to  roll 
in — to  play  duck  and  drake  with  ever  after." — "Trelawney,"  said  the 
doctor,  "I'll  go  with  you;  and  I'll  go  bail  for  it;  so  will  Jim,  and  be  a 
credit  to  the  undertaking.     There's  only  one  man  I'm  afraid  of." — 


32  TREASURE    ISLAND 

"And  who  is  that?"  cried  the  squire.  "Name  the  dog,  sir!" — "You," 
replied  the  doctor,  "for  you  can  not  hold  your  tongue.  We  are  not  the 
only  men  who  know  of  this  paper.  These  fellows  who  attacked  the 
inn  to-night — bold,  desperate  blades,  for  sure — and  the  rest  who  stayed 
aboard  that  lugger  are  one  and  all  bound  that  they'll  get  that  money. 
We  must  none  of  us  go  alone  till  we  get  to  sea.  Jim  and  I  shall  stick 
together  in  the  meanwhile',  you'll  take  Joyce  and  Hunter  when  you 
ride  to  Bristol,  and,  from  first  to  last,  not  one  of  us  must  breathe  a 
word  of  what  we've  found." — "Livesey,"  returned  the  squire,  "you 
are  always  in  the  right  of  it.     I'll  be  as  silent  as  the  grave." 


CHAPTER    VII 

I   GO   TO    BRISTOL 

It  was  longer  than  the  squire  imagined  ere  we  were  ready  for  the 
sea,  and  none  of  our  first  plans  could  be  carried  out  as  we  intended. 
The  doctor  had  to  go  to  London  for  a  physician  to  take  charge  of  his 
practice;  the  squire  was  hard  at  work  at  Bristol;  and  I  lived  on  at  the 
Hall  under  the  charge  of  old  Redruth,  the  game-keeper.  One  fine 
day  there  came  a  letter  addressed  to  Doctor  Livesey,  with  this  addition, 
"To  be  opened  in  the  case  of  his  absence,  by  Tom  Redruth  or  Young 
Hawkins."  Obeying  this  order,  we  found,  or  rather  I  found — for 
the  game-keeper  was  a  poor  hand  at  reading  anything  but  print — the 
following  important  news: 

"Old  Anchorage  Inn,  at  Bristol,  March  1,  17 — . 

"Dear  Livesey:  As  I  do  not  know  whether  you  are  at  the  Hall 
or  still  in  London,  I  send  this  in  double  to  both  places. 

"The  ship  is  bought  and  fitted.  She  lies  at  anchor,  ready  for  sea. 
You  never  imagined  a  sweeter  schooner,  two  hundred  tons;  name, 
Hispaniola. 


TREASURE    ISLAND  33 

"I  got  her  through  my  old  friend.  Blandly,  who  has  proved  him- 
self throughout  the  most  surprising  trump.  The  admirable  fellow 
literally  slaved  in  my  interest,  and  so,  I  may  say,  did  every  one  in 
Bristol,  as  soon  as  they  got  wind  of  the  port  we  sailed  for — treasure, 
I  mean. 

"Blandly  himself  found  the  Hispaniola,  and  by  the  most  admir- 
able management  got  her  for  the  merest  trifle.  There  is  a  class  of 
men  in  Bristol  monstrously  prejudiced  against  Blandly.  They  go 
the  length  of  declaring  that  this  honest  creature  would  do  anything 
for  money ;  that  the  Hispaniola  belonged  to  him  and  that  he  sold  it  to 
me  absurdly  high — the  most  transparent  calumnies.  None  of  them 
dare,  however,  to  deny  the  merits  of  the  ship.  So  far  there  was  not  a 
hitch.  The  work-people,  to  be  sure-— riggers  and  what  not — were 
most  annoyingly  slow,  but  time  cured  that.  It  was  the  crew  that 
troubled  me. 

"I  wished  a  round  score  of  men — in  case  of  natives,  buccaneers, 
or  the  odious  French — and  I  had  the  worry  of  the  deuce  to  find  so 
much  as  half  a  dozen,  till  the  most  remarkable  stroke  of  fortune 
brought  me  the  very  man  I  required.  I  was  standing  on  the  deck, 
when,  by  the  merest  accident,  I  fell  in  talk  with  him.  I  found  he  was 
an  old  sailor,  kept  a  public  house,  knew  all  the  seafaring  men  in  Bris- 
tol, had  lost  his  health  ashore,  and  wanted  a  good  berth  as  cook  to 
get  to  sea  again.  He  had  hobbled  down  there  that  morning,  he  said, 
to  get  a  smell  of  the  salt.  I  engaged  him  on  the  spot  to  be  ship's  cook. 
Long  John  Silver  he  is  called,  and  has  lost  a  leg;  but  that  I  regarded 
as  a  recommendation,  since  he  lost  it  in  his  country's  service,  under  the 
immortal  Hawke.  He  has  no  pension,  Livesey.  Imagine  the  abom- 
inable age  we  live  in ! 

"Well,  sir,  I  thought  I  had  only  found  a  cook,  but  it  was  a  crew 
I  had  discovered.  Between  Silver  and  myself  we  got  together  in  a 
few  days  a  company  of  the  toughest  old  salts  imaginable — not  pretty 
to  look  at,  but  fellows,  by  their  faces,  of  the  most  indomitable  spirit.  I 
declare  we  could  fight  a  frigate.  Long  John  even  got  rid  of  two  out 
of  the  six  or  seven  I  had  already  engaged.  He  showed  me  in  a  moment 
that  they  were  just  the  sort  of  fresh-water  swabs  we  had  to  fear  in  an 
adventure  of  importance. 

"I  am  in  the  most  magnificent  health  and  spirits,  yet  I  shall  not 


34  TREASURE    ISLAND 

enjoy  a  moment  till  I  hear  my  old  tarpaulins  tramping  round  the 
capstan.  Seaward  ho!  Hang  the  treasure!  It's  the  glory  of  the 
sea  that  has  turned  my  head.     So  now,  Livesey,  come  j:>ost. 

"Let  young  Hawkins  go  at  once  to  see  his  mother,  with  Redruth 
for  a  guard,  and  then  both  come  full  speed  to  Bristol. 

"Jojtn  Trelawney." 

"P.  S. — I  did  not  tell  you  that  Blandly,  who,  by  the  way,  is  to 
send  a  consort  after  us  if  we  don't  turn  up  by  the  end  of  August,  had 
found  an  admirable  fellow  for  sailing-master — a  stiff  man,  which  I 
regret,  but,  in  all  other  respects,  a  treasure.  Long  John  Silver  un- 
earthed a  very  competent  man  for  a  mate,  a  man  named  Arrow. 

"I  forgot  to  tell  you  that  Silver  is  a  man  of  substance;  I  know  of 
my  own  knowledge  that  he  has  a  banker's  account,  which  has  never 
been  overdrawn.  J.  T. 

"P.  P.  S. — Hawkins  may  stay  one  night  with  his  mother. 

"J.  T." 

You  can  fancy  the  excitement  into  which  that  letter  put  me.  I 
was  half  beside  myself  with  glee.  The  next  morning  I  set  out  on  foot 
for  the  Admiral  Benbow,  and  there  I  found  my  mother  in  good  health 
and  spirits.  The  squire  had  had  everything  repaired,  and  had  added 
some  furniture — above  all,  a  beautiful  arm-chair  for  mother  in  the 
bar.  He  had  found  her  a  boy  as  an  apprentice,  also,  so  that  she 
should  not  want  help  while  I  was  gone. 

It  was  on  seeing  that  boy  that  I  understood,  for  the  first  time,  my 
situation.  I  had  thought  up  to  that  moment  of  the  adventures  before 
me,  not  at  all  of  the  home  that  I  was  leaving ;  and  now  at  sight  of  this 
clumsy  stranger,  who  was  to  stay  here  in  my  place  beside  my  mother, 
I  had  my  first  attack  of  tears.  The  night  passed,  and  the  next  day 
Redruth  and  I  were  afoot  again.  I  had  said  good-by  to  mother  and 
the  cove  where  I  had  lived  since  I  was  born,  and  the  dear  old  Admiral 
Benbow.  Next  moment  we  had  turned  the  corner,  and  my  home  was 
out  of  sight. 


TREASURE    ISLAND  35 

The  mail  picked  us  up  about  dusk  at  the  Royal  George  on  the 
heath.  I  was  wedged  in  between  Redruth  and  a  stout  old  gentleman, 
and  in  spite  of  the  swift  motion  and  the  cold  night  air,  I  must  have 
slept  like  a  log  up  hill  and  down  dale,  through  stage  after  stage;  for 
when  I  was  awakened  at  last,  I  opened  my  eyes  to  find  that  we  were 
standing  before  a  large  building  in  a  city  street.  "Where  are  we?"  I 
asked. — "Bristol,"  said  Tom.     "Get  down." 

Mr.  Trelawney  had  taken  up  his  residence  at  an  inn  far  down 
the  docks,  to  superintend  the  work  upon  the  schooner.  Thither  we 
had  now  to  walk,  and  our  way,  to  my  great  delight,  lay  along  the 
quays  and  beside  the  great  multitude  of  ships  of  all  sizes  and  rigs 
and  nations.  In  one,  sailors  were  singing  at  their  work;  in  another, 
there  were  men  aloft,  high  over  my  head,  hanging  to  threads  that 
seemed  no  thicker  than  a  spider's.  Though  I  had  lived  by  the  shore 
all  my  life,  I  seemed  never  to  have  been  near  the  sea  till  then.  And  I 
was  going  to  sea  myself;  to  sea  in  a  schooner,  with  a  piping  boatswain, 
and  pig-tailed  singing  seamen;  to  sea,  bound  for  an  unknown  island, 
and  to  seek  for  buried  treasure. 

While  I  was  in  this  delightful  dream,  we  came  suddenly  in  front 
of  a  large  inn,  and  met  Squire  Trelawney,  all  dressed  out  like  a  sea 
officer,  in  stout  blue  cloth,  coming  out  of  the  door  with  a  smile  on  his 
face,  and  a  capital  imitation  of  a  sailor's  walk.  "Here  you  are!"  he 
cried;  "and  the  doctor  came  last  night  from  London.  Bravo! — the 
ship's  company  complete." — "Oh,  sir,"  cried  I,  "when  do  we  sail?" — - 
"Sail!"  says  he.     "We  sail  to-morrow." 


36  TREASURE    ISLAND 

CHAPTER    VIII 

AT   THE   SIGN    OF   THE    SPY-GLASS 

When  I  had  done  breakfasting,  the  squire  gave  me  a  note  ad- 
dressed to  John  Silver,  at  the  sign  of  the  Spy-glass,  and  told  me  I 
should  easily  find  the  place  by  following  the  line  of  the  docks,  and 
keeping  a  lookout  for  a  little  tavern  with  a  brass  telescope  for  a  sign. 
I  set  off,  and  picked  my  way  among  a  great  crowd  of  people  and 
carts  and  bales,  until  I  found  the  tavern  in  question. 

It  was  a  bright  enough  little  place  of  entertainment.  The  sign 
was  newly  painted;  the  windows  had  neat  red  curtains;  the  floor  was 
cleanly  sanded.  The  customers  were  mostly  seafaring  men,  and  they 
talked  so  loudly  that  I  hung  at  the  door  almost  afraid  to  enter. 

As  I  was  waiting,  a  man  came  out  of  a  side  room,  and  at  a  glance 
I  was  sure  he  must  be  Long  John.  His  left  leg  was  cut  off  close 
by  the  hip,  and  under  the  left  shoulder  he  carried  a  crutch,  which  he 
managed  with  wonderful  dexterity,  hopping  about  upon  it  like  a  bird. 
He  was  very  tall  and  strong,  with  a  face  as  big  as  a  ham — plain  and 
pale,  but  intelligent  and  smiling. 

Now,  to  tell  you  the  truth,  from  the  very  first  mention  of  Long 
John  in  Squire  Trelawney's  letter,  I  had  taken  a  fear  in  my  mind  that 
he  might  prove  to  be  the  very  one-legged  sailor  whom  I  had  watched 
for  so  long  at  the  old  Benbow.  But  one  look  at  the  man  before  me 
was  enough.  I  had  seen  the  captain,  and  Black  Dog,  and  the  blind 
man  Pew,  and  I  thought  I  knew  what  a  buccaneer  was  like — a  very 
different  creature,  according  to  me,  from  this  clean  and  pleasant- 
tempered  landlord.  I  plucked  up  courage  at  once,  crossed  the  thresh- 
old, and  walked  right  up  to  the  man  where  he  stood,  propped  on  his 
crutch,  talking  to  a  customer.  "Mr.  Silver,  sir?"  I  asked,  holding  out 
the  note. — "Yes,  my  lad,"  said  he;  "such  is  my  name,  to  be  sure.     And 


TREASURE    ISLAND  37 

who  may  you  be?"  And  when  he  saw  the  squire's  letter  he  seemed  to 
me  to  give  something  almost  like  a  start. 

"Oh!"  said  he,  quite  aloud,  and  offering  his  hand,  "I  see.  You 
are  our  new  cabin-boy;  pleased  I  am  to  see  you."  And  he  took  my 
hand  in  his  large,  firm  grasp. 

Just  then  one  of  the  customers  at  the  far  side  rose  suddenly  and 
made  for  the  door.  It  was  close  by  him,  and  he  was  out  in  the  street 
in  a  moment.  But  his  hurry  had  attracted  my  notice,  and  I  recog- 
nized him  at  a  glance.  It  was  the  tallow-faced  man,  wanting  two 
fingers,  who  had  come  first  to  the  Admiral  Benbow.  "Oh,"  I  cried, 
"stop  him!  it's  Black  Dog!" — "I  don't  care  two  coppers  who  he  is," 
cried  Silver,  "but  he  hasn't  paid  his  score.  Harry,  run  and  catch  him." 
One  of  the  others  who  was  nearest  the  door  leaped  up  and  started  in 
pursuit. 

"If  he  were  Admiral  Hawke,  he  shall  pay  his  score,"  cried  Silver; 
and  then,  relinquishing  my  hand,  "Who  did  you  say  he  was?"  he  asked. 
"Black  what?" — "Dog,  sir,"  said  I.  "Has  Mr.  Trelawney  not  told 
you  of  the  buccaneers?  He  was  one  of  them." — "So?"  cried  Silver. 
"In  my  house!  Ben,  run  and  help  Harry.  One  of  those  swabs,  was 
he?     Was  that  you  drinking  with  him,  Morgan?     Step  up  here." 

The  man  whom  he  called  Morgan — an  old,  gray-haired,  mahog- 
any-faced sailor — came  forward  pretty  sheepishly,  rolling  his  quid. 
"Now,  Morgan,"  said  Long  John,  very  sternly,  "you  never  clapped 
your  eyes  on  that  Black — Black  Dog  before,  did  you,  now?" — "Not  I, 
sir,"  said  Morgan,  with  a  salute. — "You  didn't  know  his  name,  did 
you?" — "No,  sir." — "By  the  powers,  Tom  Morgan,  it's  good  for  you!" 
exclaimed  the  landlord.  "If  you  had  been  mixed  up  with  the  like  of 
that,  you  would  never  have  put  another  foot  in  my  house,  you  may  lay 
to  that.  And  what  was  he  saying  to  you?" — "I  don't  rightly  know, 
sir,"  answered  Morgan. — "Do  you  call  that  a  head  on  your  shoulders, 
or  a  blessed  dead-eye?"  cried  Long  John.  "Don't  rightly  know,  don't 
you?     Perhaps  you  don't  happen  to  rightly  know  who  you  was  speak- 


38  TREASURE    ISLAND 

ing  to,  perhaps?  Come  now,  what  was  he  jawin — v'yages,  cap'ns, 
ships?  Pipe  up.  What  was  it?" — "We  was  a-talkin'  of  keel-haul- 
ing," answered  Morgan. — "Keel-hauling,  was  you?  and  a  mighty  suit- 
able thing,  too,  and  you  may  lay  to  that.  Get  back  to  your  place  for 
a  lubber,  Tom." 

And  then,  as  Morgan  rolled  back  to  his  seat,  Silver  added  to  me, 
in  a  confidential  whisper,  that  was  very  flattering,  as  I  thought:  "He's 
quite  an  honest  man,  Tom  Morgan,  on'y  stupid.  And  now,"  he  ran 
on  again,  aloud,  "let's  see — Black  Dog?  No,  I  don't  know  the  name, 
not  I.  Yet  I  kind  of  think  I've — yes,  I've  seen  the  swab.  He  used 
to  come  here  with  a  blind  beggar,  he  used." — "That  he  did,  you  may  be 
sure,"  said  I.  "I  know  that  blind  man,  too.  His  name  was  Pew." — 
"It  was!"  cried  Silver,  now  quite  excited.  "Pew!  That  were  his  name 
for  certain.  Ah,  he  looked  a  shark,  he  did!  If  we  run  down  this 
Black  Dog,  now,  there'll  be  news  for  Cap'n  Trelawney !  Ben's  a  good 
runner.  He  should  run  him  down.  He  talked  o'  keel-hauling,  did 
he?    I'll  keel-haul  him!" 

All  the  time  he  was  jerking  out  these  phrases  he  was  stumping  up 
and  down  the  tavern  on  his  crutch,  and  giving  such  a  show  of  excite- 
ment as  would  have  convinced  an  Old  Bailey  judge.  My  suspicions 
had  been  thoroughly  re-awakened  on  finding  Black  Dog  at  the  Spy- 
glass, and  I  watched  the  cook  narrowly.  But  he  was  too  deep,  and  too 
ready,  and  too  clever  for  me,  and  by  the  time  the  two  men  had  come 
back  out  of  breath,  and  confessed  that  they  had  lost  the  track  in  a 
crowd,  I  would  have  gone  bail  for  the  innocence  of  Long  John  Silver. 

"See  here,  now,  Hawkins,"  said  he,  "here's  a  blessed  hard  thing 
on  a  man  like  me,  now,  ain't  it?  There's  Cap'n  Trelawney — what's  he 
to  think?  Here  I  have  this  confounded  son  of  a  Dutchman  sitting  in 
my  own  house,  drinking  of  my  own  rum !  Now,  Hawkins,  you  do  me 
justice  with  the  cap'n.  You're  a  lad,  you  are,  but  you're  as  smart  as 
paint.  I  see  that  when  you  first  came  in.  Now,  here  it  is:  What 
could  I  do,  with  this  old  timber  I  hobble  on?     When  I  was  an  A  B 


TREASURE    ISLAND 


39 


Page  37. 


40  TREASURE    ISLAND 

master  mariner  I'd  have  come  up  alongside  of  him,  hand  over  hand, 

and  broached  him  to  in  a  brace  of  old  shakes,  I  would ;  and  now " 

And  then,  all  of  a  sudden,  he  stopped,  and  his  jaw  dropped  as  though 
he  had  remembered  something.  "The  score!"  he  burst  out.  "Three 
goes  o'  rum!  Why,  shiver  my  timbers,  if  I  hadn't  forgotten  my 
score!"  And,  falling  on  a  bench,  he  laughed  until  the  tears  ran  down 
his  cheeks.  I  could  not  help  joining,  and  we  laughed  together,  peal 
after  peal,  until  the  tavern  rang  again. 

"Why,  what  a  precious  old  sea-calf  I  am!"  he  said,  at  last,  wiping 
his  cheeks.  "But,  come,  now,  stand  by  to  go  about.  I'll  put  on  my 
old  cocked  hat  and  step  along  of  you  to  Cap'n  Trelawney,  and  report 
this  here  affair." 

On  our  little  walk  along  the  quays  he  made  himself  the  most  inter- 
esting companion,  telling  me  about  the  different  ships  that  we  passed 
by,  their  rig,  tonnage,  and  nationality,  explaining  the  work  that  was 
going  forward  and  every  now  and  then  telling  me  some  little  anecdote 
of  seamen,  or  repeating  a  nautical  phrase  till  I  had  learned  it  perfectly. 
I  began  to  see  that  here  was  one  of  the  best  of  possible  shipmates. 
When  we  got  to  the  inn,  the  squire  and  Doctor  Livesey  were  seated 
together,  finishing  a  quart  of  ale  with  a  toast  in  it,  before  they  should 
go  aboard  the  schooner  on  a  visit  of  inspection. 

Long  John  told  the  story  from  first  to  last,  with  a  great  deal  of 
spirit  and  the  most  perfect  truth.  "That  was  how  it  were,  now, 
weren't  it,  Hawkins?"  he  would  say,  now  and  again,  and  I  could 
always  bear  him  entirely  out.  The  two  gentlemen  regretted  that 
Black  Dog  had  got  away,  but  we  all  agreed  there  was  nothing  to  be 
done,  and  after  he  had  been  complimented,  Long  John  took  up  his 
crutch  and  departed. 

"All  hands  aboard  by  four  this  afternoon!"  shouted  the  squire 
after  him. — "Ay,  ay,  sir,"  cried  the  cook  in  the  passage. — "Well, 
squire,"  said  Doctor  Livesey,  "I  don't  put  much  faith  in  your  discov- 
eries, as  a  general  thing,  but  I  will  say  this — John  Silver  suits  me." — 


TREASURE    ISLAND  41 

"That  man's  a  perfect  trump,"  declared  the  squire. — "And  now," 
added  the  doctor,  "Jim  may  come  on  board  with  us,  may  he  not?" — "To 
be  sure  he  may,"  said  the  squire.  "Take  your  hat,  Hawkins,  and  we'll 
see  the  ship." 


CHAPTER    IX 

POWDER   AND   ARMS 

The  Hispaniola  lay  some  way  out,  and  we  went  under  the  figure- 
heads and  around  the  sterns  of  many  other  shijjs.  At  last  we  swung 
alongside,  and  were  met  and  saluted  as  we  stepped  aboard  by  the  mate, 
Mr.  Arrow,  a  brown  old  sailor,  with  earrings  in  his  ears  and  a  squint. 
He  and  the  squire  were  very  thick  and  friendly,  but  I  soon  observed 
that  things  were  not  the  same  between  Trelawney  and  the  captain. 

This  last  was  a  sharp-looking  man,  who  seemed  angry  with  every- 
thing on  board,  and  was  soon  to  tell  us  why,  for  we  had  hardly  got 
down  into  the  cabin  when  a  sailor  followed  us. 

"Captain  Smollett,  sir,  axing  to  speak  with  you,"  said  he. — "I 
am  always  at  the  captain's  orders.  Show  him  in,"  said  the  squire. 
The  captain,  who  was  close  behind  his  messenger,  entered  at  once,  and 
shut  the  door  behind. him.  "Well,  sir,"  said  the  captain,  "better  speak 
plain,  I  believe,  at  the  risk  of  offense.  I  don't  like  this  cruise;  I  don't 
like  the  men;  and  I  don't  like  my  officer.  That's  short  and  sweet." — 
"Perhaps,  sir,  you  don't  like  the  ship?"  inquired  the  squire,  very  angry, 
as  I  could  see. — "I  can't  speak  as  to  that,  sir,  not  having  seen  her  tried," 
said  the  captain.  "She  seems  a  clever  craft ;  more  I  can't  say." — "Pos- 
sibly, sir,  you  may  not  like  your  employer,  either?"  said  the  squire. 

But  here  Doctor  Livesey  cut  in.  "Stay  a  bit,"  said  he,  "stay  a 
bit.  No  use  of  such  questions  as  that  but  to  produce  ill-feeling.  The 
captain  has  said  too  much  or  he  has  said  too  little,  and  I'm  bound  to 
say  that  I  require  an  explanation  of  his  words.  You  don't,  you  say, 
like  this  cruise.     Now,  why?" — "I  was  engaged,  sir,  on  what  we  call 


42         •  TREASURE    ISLAND 

sealed  orders,  to  sail  this  ship  for  that  gentleman  where  he  should  bid 
me,"  said  the  captain.  "So  far  so  good.  But  now  I  find  that  every 
man  before  the  mast  knows  more  than  I  do.  I  don't  call  that  fair, 
now,  do  you?" — "No,"  said  Doctor  Livesey,  "I  don't." — "Next,"  said 
the  captain,  "I  learn  we  are  going  after  treasure — hear  it  from  my  own 
hands,  mind  you.  Now,  treasure  is  ticklish  work ;  I  don't  like  treasure 
voyages  on  any  account;  and  I  don't  like  them,  above  all,  when  they 
are  secret,  and  when  the  secret  has  been  told  to  the  parrot.  It's  my 
belief  neither  of  you  gentlemen  know  what  you  are  about;  but  I'll  tell 
you  my  way  of  it — life  or  death,  and  a  close  run." 

"That  is  all  clear,  and,  I  dare  say,  true  enough,"  replied  Doctor 
Livesey.  "We  take  the  risk,  but  we  are  not  so  ignorant  as  you  believe 
us.  Next,  you  say  you  don't  like  the  crew.  Are  they  not  good  sea- 
men?"— "I  don't  like  them,  sir,"  returned  Captain  Smollett.  "And  I 
think  I  should  have  had  the  choosing  of  my  own  hands,  if  you  go  to 
that." — "Perhaps  you  should,"  replied  the  doctor,  "but  the  slight,  if 
there  be  one,  was  unintentional.  And  you  don't  like  Mr.  Arrow?" — 
"I  don't,  sir.  I  believe  he's  a  good  seaman,  but  he's  too  free  with  the 
crew  to  be  a  good  officer.  A  mate  should  keep  himself  to  himself." — 
"Well,  now,  and  the  short  and  long  of  it,  captain?"  asked  the  doctor. 
"Tell  us  what  you  want." — "Well,  gentlemen,  are  you  determined 
to  go  on  this  cruise?" — "Like  iron,"  answered  the  squire. — "Very 
good,"  said  the  captain.  "Then,  as  you've  heard  me  very  patiently, 
saying  things  that  I  could  not  prove,  hear  me  a  few  words  more. 
They  are  putting  the  powder  and  the  arms  in  the  fore-hold.  Now, 
you  have  a  good  place  under  the  cabin ;  why  not  put  them  there  ? — first 
point.  Then  you  are  bringing  four  of  your  own  people  with  you,  and 
they  tell  me  some  of  them  are  to  be  berthed  forward.  Why  not  give 
them  the  berths  here  beside  the  cabin? — second  point." — "Any  more?" 
asked  Trelawney. — "One  more,"  said  the  captain.  "There's  been  too 
much  blabbing  already." — "Far  too  much,"  agreed  the  doctor. — "I'll 
tell  you  what  I've  heard  myself,"  continued  Captain  Smollett;  "that 


TREASURE    ISLAND  43 

you  have  a  map  of  an  island;  that  there's  crosses  on  the  map  to  show 
where  treasure  is;  and  that  the  island  lies —  And  then  he  named 

the  latitude  and  longitude  exactly. — "I  never  told  that,"  cried  the 
squire,  "to  a  soul." — "The  hands  know  it,  sir,"  returned  the  captain. — 
"Livesey,  that  must  have  heen  you  or  Hawkins,"  cried  the  squire. — 
"It  doesn't  much  matter  who  it  was,"  replied  the  doctor.  And  I  coidd 
see  that  neither  he  nor  the  captain  paid  much  regard  to  Trelawney's 
protestations. — "Well,  gentlemen,"  continued  the  captain,  "I  don't 
know  who  has  this  map,  hut  I  make  it  a  point  it  shall  he  kept  secret 
even  from  me  and  Mr.  Arrow.  Otherwise  I  would  ask  you  to  let  me 
resign." 

"I  see,"  said  the  doctor.  "You  wish  to  keep  this  matter  dark,  and 
to  make  a  garrison  of  the  stern  part  of  the  ship  manned  with  my 
friend's  own  people,  and  provided  with  all  the  arms  and  powder  on 
hoard.  In  other  words,  you  fear  a  mutiny." — "Sir,"  said  Captain 
Smollett,  "with  no  intention  to  take  offense,  I  deny  your  right  to  put 
words  into  my  mouth.  No  captain,  sir,  would  be  justified  in  going  to 
sea  at  all  if  he  had  ground  enough  for  that.  As  for  Mr.  Arrow,  I 
believe  him  thoroughly  honest ;  some  of  the  men  are  the  same ;  all  may 
be,  for  what  I  know.  But  I  am  responsible  for  the  ship's  safety  and 
the  life  of  every  man  Jack  aboard  of  her.  I  see  things  going,  as  I 
think,  not  quite  right ;  and  I  ask  you  to  take  certain  precautions,  or  let 
me  resign  my  berth.     And  that's  all." 

"Captain  Smollett,"  began  the  doctor,  wTith  a  smile,  "when  you 
came  in  here  I'll  stake  my  wig  you  meant  more  than  this." — "Doctor," 
said  the  captain,  "you  are  smart.  When  I  came  in  here  I  meant  to 
get  discharged.  I  had  no  thought  that  Mr.  Trelawney  would  hear  a 
word." — "Xo  more  I  would,"  cried  the  squire.  "Had  Livesey  not 
been  here  I  should  have  seen  you  to  the  deuce.  As  it  is,  I  have  heard 
you.  I  will  do  as  you  desire,  but  I  think  the  worse  of  you." — "That's 
as  you  please,  sir,"  said  the  captain.  "You'll  find  I  do  my  duty." 
And  with  that  he  took  his  leave. 


44  TREASURE    ISLAND 

When  we  came  on  deck  the  men  had  begun  already  to  take  out 
the  arms  and  powder,  yo-ho-ing  at  their  work,  while  the  captain  and 
Arrow  stood  by  superintending.  The  new  arrangement  was  quite  to 
my  liking.  The  whole  schooner  had  been  overhauled;  six  berths  had 
been  made  astern,  out  of  what  had  been  the  afterpart  of  the  main  hold, 
and  this  set  of  cabins  was  only  joined  to  the  galley  and  forecastle  by  a 
sparred  passage  on  the  port  side.  It  had  been  originally  meant  that 
the  captain,  Arrow,  Hunter,  Joyce,  the  doctor,  and  the  squire  were  to 
occupy  these  six  berths.  Now,  Redruth  and  I  were  to  get  two  of  them, 
and  Arrow  and  the  captain  were  to  sleep  on -deck  in  the  companion, 
which  had  been  enlarged  on  each  side  till  you  might  almost  have  called 
it  a  round-house. 

We  were  all  hard  at  work  changing  the  powder  and  the  berths, 
when  the  last  man  or  two,  and  Long  John  along  with  them,  came  off 
in  a  shore-boat.  The  cook  came  up  the  side  like  a  monkey  for  clever- 
ness, and,  as  soon  as  he  saw  what  was  doing,  "So  ho,  mates!"  said  he, 
"what's  this!" — "We're  a-changing  the  powder,  Jack,"  answered  one. 
— "Why,  by  the  powers,"  cried  Long  John,  "if  we  do,  we'll  miss  the 
morning  tide!" — "My  orders!"  said  the  captain,  shortly.  "You  may 
go  below,  my  man.  Hands  will  want  supper." — "Ay,  ay,  sir,"  an- 
swered the  cook;  and,  touching  his  forelock,  he  disappeared  at  once  in 
the  direction  of  his  galley. 

"That's  a  good  man,  captain,"  said  the  doctor. — "Very  likely, 
sir,"  replied  Captain  Smollett.  "Easy  with  that,  men — easy,"  he  ran 
on,  to  the  fellows  who  were  shifting  the  powder;  and  then  suddenly 
observing  me  examining  the  swivel  we  carried  amidships.  "Here,  you 
ship's  boy,"  he  cried,  "out  o'  that!  Off  with  you  to  the  cook  and  get 
some  work."  And  then  as  I  was  hurrying  off,  I  heard  him  say,  quite 
loudly,  to  the  doctor:  "I'll  have  no  favorites  on  my  ship."  I  assure 
you  I  was  quite  of  the  squire's  way  of  thinking,  and  hated  the  captain 
deeply. 


TREASURE    ISLAND     '  45 


CHAPTER   X 

THE    VOYAGE 

All  that  night  we  were  in  a  great  bustle  getting  things  stowed  in 
their  place,  and  boatfuls  of  the  squire's  friends  coming  off  to  wish  him 
a  good  voyage  and  a  safe  return,  and  I  was  dog-tired  when,  a  little 
before  dawn,  the  boatswain  sounded  his  pipe,  and  the  crew  began  to 
man  the  capstan-bars.  I  might  have  been  twice  as  weary,  yet  I  would 
not  have  left  the  deck,  all  was  so  new  and  interesting  to  me — the  brief 
commands,  the  shrill  notes  of  the  whistle,  the  men  bustling  to  their 
places  in  the  glimmer  of  the  ship's  lanterns. 

I  am  not  going  to  relate  the  voyage  in  detail.  It  was  fairly  pros- 
perous. The  ship  proved  to  be  a  good  ship,  the  crew  were  capable 
seamen,  and  the  captain  thoroughly  understood  his  business.  But 
before  we  came  the  length  of  Treasure  Island,  two  or  three  things  had 
happened  which  require  to  be  known. 

Arrow  turned  out  even  worse  than  the  captain  had  feared.  He 
had  no  command  among  the  men,  and  people  did  what  they  pleased 
with  him.  But  that  was  by  no  means  the  worst  of  it;  for  after  a  day 
or  two  at  sea  he  began  to  appear  on  deck  with  hazy  eye,  stuttering 
tongue,  and  other  marks  of  drunkenness.  Sometimes  he  fell  and  cut 
himself.  In  the  meantime  we  could  never  make  out  where  he  got  the 
drink.  Watch  him  as  we  pleased,  we  could  do  nothing  to  solve  it.  He 
was  not  only  useless  as  an  officer,  but  had  a  bad  influence  among  the 
men,  but  it  was  plain  that  at  this  rate  he  must  soon  kill  himself  outright, 
so  nobody  was  much  surprised,  when  one  dark  night,  with  a  head  sea, 
he  disappeared  entirely  and  was  seen  no  more.  "Overboard!"  said  the 
captain.  "Well,  gentlemen,  that  saves  the  trouble  of  putting  him  in 
irons." 

But  there  we  were,  without  a  mate,  and  it  was  necessarv,  of  course, 


46  TREASURE    ISLAND 

to  advance  one  of  the  men.  The  boatswain,  Job  Anderson,  was  the 
likeliest  man  aboard,  and  though  he  kept  his  old  title,  he  served  in  a 
way  as  mate.  Trelawney  had  followed  the  sea,  and  his  knowledge 
made  him  very  useful,  for  he  often  took  a  watch  himself  in  easy 
Aveather.  And  the  cockswain,  Israel  Hands,  was  a  careful,  wily,  old, 
experienced  seaman,  who  could  be  trusted  at  a  pinch  with  almost  any- 
thing. He  was  a  great  confident  of  Long  John  Silver,  and  so  the 
mention  of  his  name  leads  me  on  to  speak  of  our  ship's  cook,  Barbecue, 
as  the  men  called  him. 

Aboard  ship  he  carried  his  crutch  by  a  lanyard  round  his  neck,  to 
have  both  hands  as  free  as  possible.  It  was  something  to  see  him 
wedge  the  foot  of  the  crutch  against  a  bulkhead,  and,  propped  against 
it,  yielding  to  every  movement  of  the  ship,  get  on  with  his  cooking  like 
some  one  safe  ashore.  Still  more  strange  was  it  to  see  him  in  the 
heaviest  of  weather  cross  the  deck.  He  had  a  line  or  two  rigged  up 
to  help  him  across  the  widest  spaces,  and  he  would  hand  himself  from 
one  place  to  another,  as  quickly  as  another  man  could  walk.  Yet  some 
of  the  men  who  had  sailed  with  him  before  expressed  their  pity  to  see 
him  so  reduced.  "He's  no  common  man,  Barbecue,"  said  the  cock- 
swain to  me.  "He  had  good  schooling  in  his  young  days,  and  can 
speak  like  a  book  when  so  minded ;  and  brave — a  lion's  nothing  along- 
side of  Long  John!  I  see  him  grapple  four  and  knock  their  heads 
together — him  unarmed." 

All  the  crew  respected  and  obeyed  him.  He  had  a  way  of  talking 
to  each  and  doing  everybody  some  particular  service.  To  me  he  was 
unweariedly  kind,  and  always  glad  to  see  me  in  the  galley,  which  he 
kept  as  clean  as  a  new  pin.  "Come  away,  Hawkins,"  he  would  say; 
"come  and  have  a  yarn  with  John.  Nobody  more  welcome  than  your- 
self, my  son.  Sit  you  down  and  hear  the  news.  Here's  Cap'n  Flint — I 
calls  my  parrot  Cap'n  Flint,  after  the  famous  buccaneer — here's  Cap'n 
Flint  predicting  success  to  our  v'yage.  Wasn't  you,  cap'n?"  And 
,  the  parrot  would  say,  with  great  rapidity:   "Pieces  of  eight!  pieces  of 


TREASURE    ISLAND  47 

eight!  pieces  of  eight!"  till  you  wondered  that  it  was  not  out  of  breath 
or  till  John  threw  his  handkerchief  over  the  cage. 

"Now,  that  bird,"  he  would  say,  "is,  maybe,  two  hundred  years 
old,  Hawkins — they  live  forever  mostly,  and  if  anybody's  seen  more 
wickedness  it  must  be  the  devil  himself.  She's  sailed  with  England — 
the  great  Cap'n  England,  the  pirate.  She's  been  at  Madagascar,  and 
at  Malabar,  and  Surinam,  and  Providence,  and  Portobello.  She  was 
at  the  fishing  up  of  the  wrecked  plate  ships.  It's  there  she  learned 
'Pieces  of  eight,'  and  little  wonder;  three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
of  'em,  Hawkins!  But  you  smelled  powder — didn't  you,  cap'n?" — 
"Stand  by  to  go  about,"  the  parrot  would  scream. 

"Ah,  she's  a  handsome  craft,  she  is,"  the  cook  would  say,  and  give 
her  sugar  from  his  pocket,  and  then  the  bird  would  peck  at  the  bars 
and  swear  straight  on,  passing  belief  for  wickedness.  "There,"  John 
would  add,  "you  can't  touch  pitch  and  not  be  mucked,  lad.  Here's  this 
poor  old  innocent  bird  of  mine  swearing  blue  fire,  and  none  the  wiser, 
you  may  lay  to  that."  And  John  would  touch  his  forelock  with  a 
solemn  way  he  had,  that  made  me  think  be  was  the  best  of  men. 

In  the  meantime,  squire  and  Captain  Smollett  were  still  on  pretty 
distant  terms  with  one  another.  The  squire  made  no  bones  about  the 
matter ;  he  despised  the  captain.  The  captain,  on  his  part,  never  spoke 
but  when  he  was  spoken  to,  and  then  sharp  and  short  and  dry,  and  not 
a  word  wasted.  He  owned,  when  driven  into  a  corner,  that  he  seemed 
to  have  been  wrong  about  the  crew,  that  some  of  them  were  as  brisk  as 
he  wanted  to  see,  and  all  had  behaved  fairly  well.  As  for  the  ship,  he 
had  taken  a  downright  fancy  to  her.  "She'll  lie  a  point  nearer  the 
wind  than  a  man  has  a  right  to  expect  of  his  own  married  wife,  sir. 
But,"  he  would  add,  "all  I  say  is,  we're  not  home  again,  and  I  don't 
like  the  cruise." 

The  squire,  at  this,  would  turn  away  and  march  up  and  down  the 
deck,  chin  in  air.  "A  trifle  more  of  that  man,"  he  would  say,  "and  I 
should  explode." 


48  TREASURE    ISLAND 

We  had  some  heavy  weather,  which  only  proved  the  qualities  of 
the  Hispaniola.  Every  man  on  board  seemed  well  content,  and  they 
must  have  been  hard  to  please  if  they  had  been  otherwise ;  for  it  is  my 
belief  there  was  never  a  ship's  company  so  spoiled  since  Noah  put  to 
sea.  Double  grog  was  going  on  the  least  excuse;  there  was  duff  on 
odd  days,  and  always  a  barrel  of  apples  standing  broached  in  the  waist, 
for  any  one  to  help  himself  that  had  a  fancy.  "Never  knew  good  to 
come  of  it  yet,"  the  captain  said  to  Doctor  Livesey.  "Spoil  fok's'le 
hands,  make  devils.  That's  my  belief."  But  good  did  come  of  the 
apple  barrel,  as  you  shall  hear,  for  if  it  had  not  been  for  that  we  should 
have  had  no  note  of  warning  and  might  all  have  perished  by  the  hand 
of  treachery. 

This  is  how  it  came  about.  We  had  run  up  the  trades  to  get  the 
wind  of  the  island  we  were  after,  and  now  we  were  running  down  for 
it  with  a  bright  lookout  day  and  night.  It  was  about  the  last  day  of 
our  outward  voyage,  by  the  largest  computation ;  some  time  that  night, 
or,  at  latest,  before  noon  of  the  morrow,  we  should  sight  the  Treasure 
Island.  •  We  were  heading  south-southwest,  and  had  a  steady  breeze 
abeam  and  a  quiet  sea.  Every  one  was  in  the  bravest  spirits,  because 
we  were  now  so  near  an  end  of  the  first  part  of  our  adventure. 

Now,  just  after  sundown,  when  all  my  work  was  over  and  I  was 
on  my  way  to  my  berth,  it  occurred  to  me  that  I  should  like  an  apple. 
I  ran  on  deck.  The  watch  was  all  forward  looking  out  for  the  island. 
The  man  at  the  helm  was  watching  the  luff  of  the  sail  and  whistling 
away  gently  to  himself.  In  I  got  bodily  into  the  apple  barrel,  and 
found  there  was  scarce  an  apple  left;  but,  sitting  down  there  in  the 
dark,  what  with  the  sound  of  the  waters  and  the  rocking  movement  of 
the  ship,  I  had  either  fallen  asleep,  or  was  on  the  point  of  doing  so, 
when  a  heavy  man  sat  down  with  rather  a  clash  close  by.  The  barrel 
shook  as  he  leaned  his  shoulders  against  it,  and  I  was  just  about  to 
jump  up  when  the  man  began  to  speak.  It  was  Silver's  voice,  and, 
before  I  had  heard  a  dozen  words,  I  would  not  have  shown  mvself  for 


TREASURE    ISLAND 


49 


Page  56. 


50  TREASURE    ISLAND 

all  the  world,  but  lay  there,  trembling  in  the  extreme  of  fear  and 
curiosity ;  for  from  these  dozen  words  I  understood  that  the  lives  of  all 
the  honest  men  aboard  depended  upon  me  alone. 


CHAPTER    XI 

WHAT    I    HEARD    IN    THE   APPLE    BARREL 

"No,  not  I,"  said  Silver.  "Flint  was  cap'n;  I  was  quartermaster, 
along  of  my  timber  leg.  The  same  broadside  I  lost  my  leg,  old  Pew 
lost  his  deadlights.  That  come  of  changing  names  to  their  ships — 
Royal  Fortune,  and  so  on.  Now,  what  a  ship  was  christened,  so  let 
her  stay,  I  says.  So  it  was  with  the  Cassandra,  as  brought  us  all  safe 
home  from  Malabar,  after  England  took  the  Viceroy  of  the  Indies; 
so  it  was  with  the  old  Walrus,  Flint's  old  ship,  as  I've  seen  a-muck  with 
red  blood  and  fit  to  sink  with  gold." — "All!"  cried  another  voice,  that 
of  the  youngest  hand  on  board,  "he  was  the  flower  of  the  flock,  was 
Flint!" — "Davis  was  a  man,  too,  by  all  accounts,"  said  Silver.  "I 
never  sailed  along  of  him;  first  with  England,  then  with  Flint,  that's 
my  story ;  and  now  here  on  my  own  account,  in  a  manner  of  speaking. 
I  laid  by  nine  hundred  safe,  from  England,  and  two  thousand  after 
Flint.  That  ain't  bad  for  a  man  before  the  mast — all  safe  in  bank. 
'Tain't  earning  now ;  it's  saving  does  it,  you  may  lay  to  that.  Where's 
all  England's  men  now?  I  dunno.  Where's  Flint's?  Why,  most  on 
'em  aboard  here,  and  glad  to  get  the  duff — been  begging  before  that, 
some  on  'em.  Old  Pew,  where  is  he  now?  Well,  he's  dead  now  and 
under  the  hatches;  but  for  two  years  before  that,  shiver  my  timbers! 
that  man  was  starving.  He  begged,  and  he  stole,  and  he  cut  throats, 
and  starved  at  that,  by  the  powers!" — "Well,  it  ain't  much  use,  after 
all,"  said  the  young  seaman. — "Tain't  much  use  for  fools,  you  may  lay 
to  it — that,  nor  nothing,"  cried  Silver.     "But  now,  you  look  here; 


TREASURE    ISLAND  51 

you're  young,  you  are,  but  you're  as  smart  as  paint.  I  see  that  when 
I  set  my  eyes  on  you,  and  I'll  talk  to  you  like  a  man." 

You  can  imagine  how  I  felt  when  I  heard  this  abominable  old 
rogue  addressing  another  in  the  very  same  words  of  flattery  as  he  had 
used  to  myself.  I  think,  if  I  had  been  able,  that  I  would  have  killed 
him  through  the  barrel.  Meantime  he  ran  on,  little  supposing  he  was 
overheard. 

"Here  it  is  about  gentlemen  of  fortune.  They  lives  rough,  and 
they  risk  swinging,  but  they  eat  and  drink  like  fighting-cocks.  But 
that's  not  the  course  I  lay.  I'm  fifty,  mark  you;  once  back  from  this 
cruise  I  set  up  gentleman  in  earnest.  Time  enough,  too,  says  you. 
Ah,  but  I've  lived  easy  in  the  meantime;  never  denied  myself  o'  nothing 
heart  desires,  and  slept  soft  and  eat  dainty  all  my  days,  but  when  at 
sea.  And  how  did  I  begin?  Before  the  mast,  like  you!" — "Well," 
said  the  other,  "but  all  the  other  money's  gone  now,  ain't?  You  daren't 
show  face  in  Bristol  after  this." — "Why,  where  might  you  suppose  it 
was?"  asked  Silver,  derisively. — "At  Bristol,  in  banks  and  places," 
answered  his  companion. — "It  were,"  said  the  cook;  "it  were  when  we 
weighed  anchor.  But  my  old  missis  has  it  all  by  now.  And  the  Spy- 
glass is  sold,  lease  and  good-will  and  rigging;  and  the  old  girl's  off  to 
meet  me.  I  would  tell  you  where,  for  I  trust  you;  but  it  'ud  make 
jealousy  among  the  mates." — "And  you  can  trust  your  missis?"  asked 
the  other. 

"Gentlemen  of  fortune,"  returned  the  cook,  "usually  trust  little 
among  themselves,  but  I  have  a  way  with  me,  I  have.  There  was  seme 
that  was  feared  of  Pew,  and  some  that  was  feared  of  Flint ;  but  Flint 
his  own  self  was  feared  of  me.  They  was  the  roughest  crew  afloat,  was 
Flint's;  the  devil  himself  would  have  been  feared  to  go  to  sea  with 
them.  Well,  now,  I  tell  you,  I'm  not  a  boasting  man,  and  you  seen 
yourself  how  easy  I  keep  company;  but  when  I  was  quartermaster, 
lambs  wasn't  the  word  for  Flint's  old  buccaneers.  Ah,  you  may  be 
sure  of  yourself  in  old  John's  ship." — "Well,  I  tell  you  now,"  replied 


52  TREASURE    ISLAND 

the  lad,  "I  didn't  half  like  the  job  till  I  had  this  talk  with  you,  John, 
but  there's  my  hand  on  it  now." — "And  a  brave  lad  you  were,  and 
smart,  too,"  answered  Silver,  shaking  hands  so  heartily  that  all  the 
barrel  shook,  "and  a  finer  figurehead  for  a  gentleman  of  fortune  I 
never  clapped  my  eyes  on." 

By  this  time  I  had  begun  to  understand  the  meaning  of  their 
terms.  By  a  "gentleman  of  fortune"  they  plainly  meant  neither  more 
nor  less  than  a  common  pirate,  and  the  little  scene  that  I  had  overheard 
was  the  last  act  in  the  corruption  of  one  of  the  honest  hands — perhaps 
of  the  last  one  left  aboard.  But  on  this  point  I  was  soon  to  be  relieved, 
for  Silver,  giving  a  little  whistle,  a  third  man  strolled  up  and  sat  down 
by  the  party. 

"Dick's  square,"  said  Silver. — "Oh,  I  know'd  Dick  was  square," 
returned  the  voice  of  the  cockswain,  Israel  Hands.  "He's  no  fool,  is 
Dick.  But,  look  here,"  he  went  on,  "here's  what  I  want  to  know, 
Barbecue — how  long  are  we  a-going  to  stand  off  and  on  like  a  blessed 
bum-boat?  I've  had  a'most  enough  o'  Cap'n  Smollett.  I  want  to  go 
into  that  cabin,  I  do.     I  want  their  pickles  and  wines,  and  that." 

"Israel,"  said  Silver,  "your  head  ain't  much  account,  nor  never 
was.  But  here's  what  I  say — you'll  berth  forward,  and  you'll  speak 
soft,  and  you'll  keep  sober,  till  I  give  the  word ;  and  you  may  lay  to  that, 
my  son."-  "Well,  I  don't  say  no, do  I  ?"  growled  the  cockswain.  "What 
I  say  is,  when?  That's  what  I  say." — "When!  by  the  powers!"  cried 
Silver.  "The  last  moment  I  can  manage;  and  that's  when.  Here's  a 
first-rate  seaman,  Cap'n  Smollett,  sails  the  blessed  ship  for  us.  Here's 
this  squire  and  doctor  with  a  map  and  such — I  don't  know  where  it  is, 
do  I?  No  more  do  you,  says  you.  Well,  then,  I  mean  this  squire  and 
doctor  shall  find  the  stuff,  and  help  us  to  get  it  aboard.  Then  we'll 
see.  If  I  was  sure  of  you  all,  I'd  have  Cap'n  Smollett  navigate  us 
halfway  back  again  before  I  struck." 

"Why,  we're  all  seamen  aboard  here,  I  should  think,"  said  the  lad 
Dick. — "We're  all  fok's'le  hands,  you  mean,"  snapped  Silver.     "We 


TREASURE    ISLAND  53 

can  steer  a  course,  but  who's  to  set  one?  If  I  had  my  way,  I'd  have 
Cap'n  Smollett  work  us  back  into  the  trades  at  least.  But  I  know 
the  sort  you  are.  I'll  finish  with  'em  at  the  island,  as  soon's  the  blunt's 
on  board,  and  a  pity  it  is.  But  you're  never  happy  till  you're  drunk. 
Split  my  sides,  I've  a  sick  heart  to  sail  with  the  likes  of  you!" — "Kas)r 
all,  Long  John,"  cried  Israel.  "Who's  a-crossin'  of  you?"-  "Why, 
how  many  tall  ships,  think  ye,  now,  have  I  see  laid  aboard?  and  how 
many  brisk  lads  drying  in  the  sun  at  Execution  Dock?"  cried  Silver; 
"and  all  for  this  same  hurry,  hurry.  You  hear  me?  I  seen  a  thing  or 
two  at  sea,  I  have.  But  you !  You'll  have  your  mouthful  of  rum 
to-morrow,  and  go  hang." 

"Everybody  know'd  you  was  a  kind  of  a  chapling,  John;  but 
there's  others  as  could  hand  and  steer  as  well  as  you,"  said  Israel. 
"They  liked  a  bit  o'  fun,  they  did."— "So?"  said  Silver.  "Well,  and 
where  are  they  now?  Pew  was  that  sort,  and  he  died  a  beggar-man. 
Flint  was,  and  he  died  of  rum  at  Savannah.  Ah,  they  was  a  sweet 
crew,  they  was!  on'y,  where  are  they?" — "But,"  asked  Dick,  "when  we 
do  lay  'em  athwart,  what  are  we  to  do  with  'em,  anyhow?" — "There's 
the  man  for  me!"  cried  the  cook,  admiringly.  "That's  what  I  call 
business.  Well,  what  would  you  think?  Put  'em  ashore  like  maroons? 
That  would  have  been  England's  way.  Or  cut  'em  down  like  that 
much  pork?  That  would  have  been  Flint's  or  Billy  Bones'." — "Billy 
was  the  man  for  that,"  said  Israel.  "  'Dead  men  don't  bite,'  says  he." 
— "Right  you  are,"  said  Silver,  "dooty  is  dooty,  mates.  I  give  my 
vote  death.  When  I'm  in  Pailyment,  and  riding  in  my  coach,  I  don't 
want  none  of  these  sea-lawyers  in  the  cabin  a-coming  home,  unlooked 
for.  Wait  is  what  I  say;  but  when  the  time  comes,  why,  let  her  rip!" 
— "John,"  cried  the  cockswain,  "you're  a  man!" — "You'll  say  so, 
Israel,  when  you  see,"  said  Silver.  "Only  one  thing  I  claim — I  claim 
Trelawney.  I'll  wring  his  calf's  head  off  his  body  with  these  hands. 
Dick!"  he  added,  breaking  off,  "you  must  jump  up,  like  a  sweet  lad, 
and  get  me  an  apple,  to  wet  my  pipe  like." 


54  TREASURE    ISLAND 

You  may  fancy  the  terror  I  was  in !  I  should  have  leaped  out  and 
run  for  it,  if  I  had  found  the  strength;  hut  my  limbs  and  heart  alike 
misgave  me.  I  heard  Dick  begin  to  rise,  and  then  some  one  seemingly 
stopped  him,  and  the  voice  of  Hands  exclaimed:  "Oh,  stow  that! 
Let's  have  a  go  of  the  rum." — "Dick,"  said  Silver,  "I  trust  you.  I've 
a  gauge  on  the  keg,  mind.  There's  the  key;  you  fill  a  pannikin  and 
bring  it  up."  Terrified  as  I  was,  I  could  not  help  thinking  to  myself 
that  this  must  have  been  how  Arrow  got  the  strong  waters  that 
destroyed  him. 

Dick  was  gone  but  a  little  while,  and  during  his  absence  Israel 
spoke  straight  on  in  the  cook's  ear.  It  was  but  a  word  or  two  that  I 
could  catch,  and  yet  I  gathered  some  important  news;  for,  besides 
other  scraps  that  tended  to  the  same  purpose,  this  whole  clause  was 
audible:  "Not  another  man  of  them'll  jine."  Hence  there  were  still 
faithful  men  on  board. 

When  Dick  returned,  one  after  another  of  the  trio  took  the  pamii- 
kin  and  drank — one  "To  luck";  another  with  a  "Here's  to  old  Flint," 
and  Silver  himself  saying,  in  a  kind  of  song,  "Here's  to  ourselves,  and 
hold  your  luff,  plenty  of  prizes  and  plenty  of  duff."  Just  then  a  sort 
of  brightness  fell  upon  me  in  the  barrel,  and,  looking  up,  I  found  the 
moon  had  risen,  and  almost  at  the  same  time  the  voice  on  the  lookout 
shouted,  "Land  ho!" 


TREASURE    ISLAND  55 


CHAPTER    XII 

COUNCIL   OF   WAR 

There  was  a  great  rush  of  feet  across  the  deck.  I  could  hear 
people  tumbling  up  from  the  cabin  and  the  fok's'le;  and,  slipping  in 
an  instant  outside  my  barrel,  I  dived  behind  the  foresail,  and  came  out 
upon  the  open  deck  in  time  to  join  Hunter  and  Doctor  Livesey  in  the 
rush  for  the  weather  bow.  Away  to  the  southwest  of  us  we  saw  two 
low  hills,  about  a  couple  of  miles  apart,  and  rising  behind  one  of  them  a 
third  and  higher  hill,  whose  peak  was  still  buried  in  the  fog.  So  much 
I  saw  almost  in  a  dream,  for  I  had  not  yet  recovered  from  my  horrid 
fear.  And  then  I  heard  the  voice  of  Captain  Smollett  issuing  orders. 
The  Hispaniola  was  laid  a  couple  of  points  nearer  the  wind,  and  now 
sailed  a  course  that  would  just  clear  the  island  on  the  east. 

"And  now,  men,"  said  the  captain,  when  all  was  sheeted  home, 
"has  any  one  of  you  ever  seen  that  land  ahead?" — "I  have,  sir,"  said 
Silver.  "I've  watered  there  with  a  trader  I  was  cook  in." — "The 
anchorage  is  on  the  south,  behind  an  islet,  I  fancy?"  asked  the  captain. 
— "Yes,  sir,  Skeleton  Island  they  calls  it.  It  were  a  main  place  for 
pirates  once,  and  a  hand  we  had  on  board  knowed  all  their  names  for  it. 
That  hill  to  the  nor'ard  they  calls  the  Foremast  Hill;  there  are  three 
hills  in  a  row  running  south'ard — fore,  main,  and  mizzen,  sir.  But  the 
main — that's  the  big  'un,  with  the  cloud  on  it — they  usually  calls  the 
Spy-glass,  by  reason  of  a  lookout  they  kept  when  they  was  in  the 
anchorage  cleaning." — "I  have  a  chart  here,"  said  Captain  Smollett. 
"See  if  that's  the  place." 

Long  John's  eyes  burned  in  his  head  as  he  took  the  chart,  but,  by 
the  fresh  look  of  the  paper,  I  knew  he  was  doomed  to  disappointment. 
This  was  not  the  map  we  found  in  Billy  Bones'  chest,  but  an  accurate 
copy,  complete  in  all  things — names,  and  heights,  and  soundings — with 


56  TREASURE    ISLAND 

the  single  exception  of  the  red  crosses  and  the  written  notes.  Sharp 
as  must  have  been  his  annoyance,  Silver  had  the  strength  of  mind  to 
hide  it. 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  he,  "this  is  the  spot,  to  be  sure,  and  very  prettily 
drawed  out.  Who  might  have  done  that,  I  wonder?  The  pirates 
were  too  ignorant,  I  reckon.  Ay,  here  it  is;  'Captain  Kidd's  anchor- 
age'— just  the  name  my  shipmate  called  it.  There's  a  strong  current 
runs  along  the  south,  and  then  away  nor'ard  up  the  west  coast." — 
"Thank  you,  my  man,"  said  Captain  Smollett.  "I'll  ask  you,  later  on, 
to  give  us  a  help.     You  may  go." 

I  was  surprised  at  the  coolness  with  which  John  avowed  his 
knowledge  of  the  island,  and  I  own  I  was  half-frightened  when  I  saw 
him  drawing  nearer  to  myself. 

Captain  Smollett,  the  squire,  and  Doctor  Livesey  were  talking 
together  on  the  quarter-deck,  and  anxious  as  I  was  to  tell  them  my 
story,  I  dared  not  interrupt  them  openly.  While  I  was  still  casting 
about  in  my  thoughts  to  find  some  probable  excuse.  Doctor  Livesey 
called  me  to  his  side.  He  had  left  his  pipe  below,  and  had  meant  that 
I  should  fetch  it ;  but  as  soon  as  I  was  near  enough  to  speak  and  not  be 
overheard,  I  broke  out  immediately:  "Doctor,  let  me  speak.  Get  the 
captain  and  squire  down  into  the  cabin,  and  then  make  some  pretense  to 
send  for  me.  I  have  terrible  news."  The  doctor  changed  counte- 
nance a  little,  but  next  moment  he  was  master  of  himself.  "Thank 
you,  Jim,"  said  he,  quite  loudly;  "that  was  all  I  wanted  to  know,"  as  if 
he  had  asked  me  a  question.  And  with  that  he  turned  on  his  heel  and 
rejoined  the  other  two.  They  spoke  together  for  a  little,  and  though 
none  of  them  started,  or  raised  his  voice,  or  so  much  as  whistled,  it  Avas 
plain  enough  that  Doctor  Livesey  had  communicated  my  request,  for 
the  next  thing  that  I  heard  was  the  captain  giving  an  order  to  Job 
Anderson,  and  all  hands  were  piped  on  deck. 

"My  lads,"  said  Captain  Smollett,  "I've  a  word  to  say  to  you. 
This  land  that  we  have  sighted  is  the  place  we  have  been  sailing  to. 


TREASURE    ISLAND  57 

Mr.  Trelawney,  being  a  very  open-handed  gentleman,  as  we  all  know, 
has  just  asked  me  a  word  or  two,  and  as  I  was  able  to  tell  him  that 
every  man  on  board  had  done  his  duty,  as  I  never  ask  to  see  it  done 
better,  why,  he  and  I  and  the  doctor  are  going  below  to  drink  your 
health  and  luck,  and  you'll  have  grog  served  out  for  you  to  drink  our 
health  and  luck.  I  think  it  handsome.  And  if  you  think  as  I  do, 
you'll  give  a  good  sea-cheer  for  the  gentleman  that  does  it."  The 
cheer  followed — that  was  a  matter  of  course — but  it  rang  out  so  full 
and  hearty,  that  I  confess  I  could  hardly  believe  these  same  men  were 
plotting' for  our  blood. — -"One  more  cheer  for  Cap'n  Smollett!"  cried 
Long  John,  when  the*  first  had  subsided.  And  this  also  was  given 
with  a  will.  On  the  top  of  that  the  three  gentlemen  went  below,  and 
not  long  after  word  was  sent  forward  that  Jim  Hawkins  was  wanted 
in  the  cabin. 

I  found  them  all  three  seated  round  the  table,  a  bottle  of  Spanish 
wine  and  some  raisins  before  them,  and  the  doctor  smoking  away,  with 
his  wig  on  his  lap,  and  that,  I  knew,  was  a  sign  that  he  was  agitated. 
"Now,  Hawkins,"  said  the  squire,  "you  have  something  to  say.  Speak 
up."  I  did  as  I  was  bid,  and  told  the  whole  details  of  Silver's  con- 
versation. Nobody  interrupted  me  till  I  was  done,  nor  did  any  one 
of  the  three  of  them  make  so  much  as  a  movement,  but  they  kept  their 
eyes  upon  my  face  from  first  to  last. — "Jim,"  said  Doctor  Livesey, 
"take  a  seat."  And  they  made  me  sit  down  at  a  table  beside  them, 
poured  me  out  a  glass  of  wine,  and  all  three  drank  my  good  health  for 
my  luck  and  courage. 

"Now,  captain,"  said  the  squire,  "you  were  right  and  I  was  wrong. 
I  own  myself  an  ass,  and  I  await  your  orders." — "No  more  an  ass 
than  I,  sir,"  returned  the  captain.  "I  never  heard  of  a  crew  that  meant 
to  mutiny  but  what  showed  signs  before.  But  this  crew  beats  me." — 
"Captain,"  said  the  doctor,  "with  your  permission,  that's  Silver.  A 
very  remarkable  man." — "He'd  look  remarkably  well  from  a  yard- 
arm,  sir,"  returned  the  captain.     "But  this  is  talk;  this  don't  lead  to 


58  TREASURE    ISLAND 

anything.  I  see  three  or  four  points,  and  with  Mr.  Trelawney's  per- 
mission I'll  name  them." — "You,  sir,  are  the  captain.  It  is  for  you  to 
speak,"  said  Trelawney. 

"First  point,"  began  Smollett,  "we  must  go  on  because  we  can't 
turn  back.  If  I  give  the  word  to  turn  about  they  would  rise  at  once. 
Second  point,  we  have  time  before  us — at  least  until  this  treasure's 
found.  Third  point,  there  are  faithful  hands.  Now,  sir,  it's  got  to 
come  to  blows  sooner  or  later,  and  what  I  propose  is  to  take  time  by  the 
forelock,  and  come  to  blows  some  fine  day  when  they  least  expect  it. 
We  can  count,  I  take  it,  on  your  own  home  servants,  Mr.  Trelawney?" 
— "As  upon  myself,"  declared  the  squire. — "Three,"  reckoned  the  cap- 
tain; "ourselves  make  seven,  counting  Hawkins  here.  Now  about  the 
honest  hands?" — "Most  likely  Trelawney's  own  men,"  said  the  doctor; 
"those  he  picked  up  himself  before  he  lit  on  Silver." — "Nay,"  replied 
the  squire,  "Hands  was  one  of  mine." — "I  did  think  I  could  have 
trusted  Hands,"  added  the  captain. — "And  to  think  that  they're  all 
Englishmen!"  broke  out  the  squire. 

"Well,  gentlemen,"  said  the  captain,  "we  must  lay  to,  if  you 
please,  and  keep  a  bright  lookout.  It's  trying  on  a  man,  I  know.  It 
would  be  pleasanter  to  come  to  blows.  But  there's  no  help  for  it  till 
we  know  our  men.  Lay  to  and  whistle  for  a  wind;  that's  my  view." — 
"Jim  here,"  said  the  doctor,  "can  help  us  more  than  any  one.  The 
men  are  not  shy  with  him,  and  Jim  is  a  noticing  lad."-  "Hawkins,  I 
put  prodigious  faitli  in  you,"  added  the  squire.  I  began  to  feel  pretty 
desperate  at  this,  for  I  felt  altogether  helpless ;  and  yet,  by  an  odd  train 
of  circumstances,  it  was  indeed  through  me  that  safety  came.  In  the 
meantime,  talk  as  we  pleased,  there  were  only  seven  out  of  the  twenty- 
six  on  whom  we  knew  we  could  rely,  and  out  of  these  seven  one  was  a 
boy,  so  that  the  grown  men  on  our  side  were  six  to  their  nineteen. 


TREASURE    ISLAND  59 


CHAPTER    XIII 

HOW    I    BEGAN    MY    SHORE    ADVENTURE 

The  appearance  of  the  island  when  I  came  on  deck  next  morning 
was  altogether  changed.  We  were  lying  becalmed  about  half  a  mile 
to  the  southeast  of  the  low  eastern  coast.  Gray-colored  woods  covered 
a  large  part  of  the  surface,  broken  up  by  streaks  of  yellow  sandbrcak 
in  the  lower  lands,  but  the  general  coloring  was  uniform  and  sad.  The 
hills  ran  up  clear  above  the  vegetation  in  spires  of  naked  rock.  The 
Spy-glass,  which  was  by  three  or  four  hundred  feet  the  tallest  on  the 
island,  was  the  strangest  in  configuration,  running  up  sheer  from 
almost  every  side  and  then  suddenly  cut  off  at  the  top  like  a  pedestal 
to  put  a  statue  on. 

The  Hispaniola  was  rolling  scuppers  under  in  the  ocean  swell.  I 
had  to  cling  tight  to  the  backstay  and  the  world  turned  giddily  before 
my  eyes,  for  though  I  was  a  good  enough  sailor  when  there  was  way  on, 
this  standing  still  and  being  rolled  about  like  a  bottle  was  a  thing  I 
never  learned  to  stand  without  a  qualm.  We  had  a  dreary  morning's 
work  before  us,  for  there  was  no  sign  of  any  wind  and  the  boats  hail  to 
be  got  out  and  the  ship  warped  round  the  corner  of  the  island  and  up 
the  narrow  passage  to  the  haven  behind  Skeleton  Island.  I  volun- 
teered for  one  of  the  boats,  where  I  had  of  course  no  business.  The 
heat  was  sweltering  and  the  men  grumbled  fiercely  over  their  work. 
Anderson  was  in  command  of  my  boat,  and  instead  of  keeping  the 
crew  in  order  he  grumbled  as  loud  as  the  worst.  "Well,"  he  said,  with 
an  oath,  "it's  not  forever."  I  thought  this  was  a  very  bad  sign,  for, 
up  to  that  day,  the  men  had  gone  briskly  and  willingly  about  their  busi- 
ness, but  the  very  sight  of  the  island  had  relaxed  the  cords  of  discipline. 

All  the  way  in,  Long  John  stood  by  the  steersman  and  conned  the 
ship.     He  knew  the  passage  like  the  palm  of  his  hand.     We  brought 


60  TREASURE    ISLAND 

ujj  just  where  the  anchor  was  in  the  chart,  about  a  third  of  a  mile  from 
either  shore,  the  mainland  on  one  side  and  Skeleton  Island  on  the 
other. 

The  place  was  entirely  land-locked,  buried  in  woods,  the  trees 
coming  right  down  to  high-water  mark,  the  shores  mostly  flat,  and  the 
hill-tops  standing  round  at  a  distance  in  a  sort  of  amphitheater,  one 
here,  one  there.  Two  little  rivers,  or  rather  two  swamps,  emptied  out 
into  this  pond,  as  you  might  call  it;  and  the  foliage  round  that  part  of 
the  shore  had  a  kind  of  poisonous  brightness.  From  the  ship  we  could 
see  nothing  of  the  house  or  stockade,  for  they  were  quite  buried  among 
trees.  There  was  not  a  breath  of  air  moving,  nor  a  sound  but  that  of 
the  surf  booming  half  a  mile  away  along  the  beaches  and  against  the 
rocks  outside.  A  peculiar  stagnant  smell  hung  over  the  anchorage — 
a  smell  of  sodden  leaves  and  rotten  tree-trunks.  I  observed  the  doctor 
sniffing  and  sniffing,  like  some  one  tasting  a  bad  egg.  "I  don't  know 
about  treasure,"  he  said,  "but  I'll  stake  my  wig  there's  fever  here." 

If  the  conduct  of  the  men  had  been  alarming  in  the  boat,  it  became 
truly  threatening  when  they  had  come  aboard.  The  slightest  order  was 
received  with  a  black  look.  Even  the  honest  hands  must  have  caught 
the  infection,  for  there  was  not  one  man  aboard  to  mend  another. 
Mutiny,  it  was  plain,  hung  over  us  like  a  thundercloud.  And  it  was 
not  only  we  of  the  cabin  party  who  perceived  the  danger.  Long  John 
was  hard  at  work  going  from  group  to  group,  spending  himself  in 
good  advice.  He  fairly  outstripped  himself  in  willingness  and  civility; 
he  was  all  smiles  to  every  one.  If  an  order  were  given,  John  would 
be  on  his  crutch  in  an  instant,  with  the  cheeriest  "Ay,  ay,  sir!"  in  the 
world ;  and  when  there  was  nothing  else  to  do,  he  kept  up  one  song  after 
another,  as  if  to  conceal  the  discontent  of  the  iest.  Of  all  the  gloomy 
features  of  that  gloomy  afternoon,  this  obvious  anxiety  on  the  part  of 
Long  John  appeared  the  worst. 

We  held  a  council  in  the  cabin.  "Sir,"  said  the  captain,  "if  I  risk 
another  order,  the  whole  ship'll  come  about  our  ears  by  the  run.     You 


TREASURE    ISLAND 


61 


Page  66. 


62  TREASURE    ISLAND 

see,  sir,  here  it  is.  I  get  a  rough  answer,  do  I  not?  Well,  if  I  speak 
back,  pikes  will  be  going  in  two  shakes ;  if  I  don't,  Silver  will  see  there's 
something  under  that,  and  the  game's  up.  Now,  we've  only  one  man 
to  rely  on." — "And  who  is  that?"  asked  the  squire. — "Silver,  sir," 
returned  the  captain;  "he's  as  anxious  as  you  and  I  to  smother  things 
up.  This  is  a  tiff ;  he'd  soon  talk  'em  out  of  it  if  he  had  the  chance,  and 
what  I  propose  to  do  is  to  give  him  the  chance.  Let's  allow  the  men 
an  afternoon  ashore.  You  mark  my  words,  sir,  Silver'll  bring  'em 
aboard  again  as  mild  as  lambs." 

It  was  so  decided;  loaded  pistols  were  served  out  to  all  the  sure 
men.  Hunter,  Joyce,  and  Redruth  were  taken  into  our  confidence, 
and  received  the  news  with  less  surprise  and  a  better  spirit  than  we  had 
looked  for,  and  then  the  captain  went  on  deck  and  addressed  the  crew. 
"My  lads,"  said  he,  "we've  had  a  hot  day,  and  are  all  tired.  A  turn 
ashore'll  hurt  nobody ;  the  boats  are  still  in  the  water ;  you  can  take  the 
gigs,  and  as  many  as  please  can  go  ashore  for  the  afternoon.  I'll  fire 
a  gun  half  an  hour  before  sun-down."  I  believe  the  silly  fellows  must 
have  thought  they  would  break  their  shins  over  the  treasure  as  soon  as 
they  were  landed ;  for  they  all  came  out  of  their  sulks  in  a  moment,  and 
gave  a  cheer  that  started  the  echo  in  a  far-away  hill. 

The  captain  was  too  bright  to  be  in  the  way.  He  whipped  out  of 
sight  in  a  moment,  leaving  Silver  to  arrange  the  party,  and  I  fancy  it 
was  well  he  did  so.  Had  he  been  on  deck  he  could  no  longer  so  much 
as  have  pretended  not  to  understand  the  situation.  It  was  as  plain  as 
day.  Silver  was  the  captain,  and  a  mighty  rebellious  crew  he  had  of  it. 
At  last,  however,  the  party  was  made  up.  Six  fellows  were  to  stay 
on  board,  and  the  remaining  thirteen,  including  Silver,  began  to 
embark. 

Then  it  was  that  there  came  into  my  head  the  first  of  the  mad 
notions  that  contributed  so  much  to  save  our  lives.  If  six  men  were 
left  by  Silver,  it  was  plain  our  party  could  not  take  and  fight  the  ship; 
and  since  only  six  were  left,  it  was  equally  plain  that  the  cabin  party 


TREASURE    ISLAND  63 

had  no  present  need  of  my  assistance.  It  occurred  to  me  at  once  to  go 
ashore.  In  a  jiffy  I  had  slipped  over  the  side  and  curled  up  in  the 
foresheets  of  the  nearest  hoat,  and  almost  at  the  same  moment  she 
shoved  off.  No  one  took  notice  of  me,  only  the  bow  oar  saying,  "Is 
that  you,  Jim?  Keep  your  head  down."  But  Silver,  from  the  other 
boat,  looked  sharply  over  and  called  out  to  know  if  that  were  me;  and 
from  that  moment  I  began  to  regret  what  I  had  done. 

The  crews  raced  for  the  beach,  but  the  boat  I  was  in,  having  some 
start,  and  being  at  once  the  lighter  and  the  better  manned,  shot  far 
ahead,  and  the  bow  had  struck  among  the  shore-side  trees,  and  I  had 
caught  a  branch  and  swung  myself  out,  and  plunged  into  the  nearest 
thicket,  while  Silver  and  the  rest  were  still  a  hundred  yards  behind. 
"Jim,  Jim!"  I  heard  him  shouting.  But  you  may  suppose  I  paid  no 
heed;  jumping,  ducking,  and  breaking  through,  I  ran  straight  before 
my  nose,  till  I  could  run  no  longer. 


CHAPTER    XIV 

THE    FIKST    BLOW 

I  was  so  pleased  at  having  given  the  slip  to  Long  John,  that  I 
began  to  enjoy  myself  and  look  around  me  with  some  interest  on  the 
strange  land  that  I  was  in.  Here  and  there  were  flowering  plants,  un- 
known to  me ;  here  and  there  I  saw  snakes,  and  one  raised  his  head  from 
a  ledge  of  rock  and  hissed  at  me  with  a  noise  not  unlike  the  spinning  of 
a  top.  Then  I  came  to  a  long  thicket  of  oak-like  trees,  which  stretched 
down  from  the  top  of  one  of  the  sandy  knolls,  until  it  reached  the  mar- 
gin of  the  broad,  reedy  fen.  The  marsh  was  steaming  in  the  strong 
sun,  and  the  outline  of  the  Spy-glass  trembled  through  the  haze. 

All  at  once  there  began  to  go  a  sort  of  bustle  among  the  bulrushes ; 


64  TREASURE    ISLAND 

a  wild  duck  flew  up  with  a  quack,  and  soon  over  the  whole  surface  of 
the  marsh  a  great  cloud  of  birds  hung  screaming  in  the  air.  I  judged 
at  once  that  some  of  my  shipmates  were  drawing  near;  nor  was  I 
deceived,  for  soon  I  heard  the  distant  tones  of  a  human  voice,  which 
grew  steadily  louder  and  nearer.  This  put  me  in  great  fear,  and  I 
crawled  under  cover  of  the  nearest  live-oak,  and  squatted  there,  heark- 
ening, as  silent  as  a  mouse.  Another  voice  answered;  and  the  first 
voice,  which  I  now  recognized  to  be  Silver's,  once  more  took  up  the 
story,  and  ran  on  for  a  long  while  in  a  stream,  only  now  and  again 
interrupted  by  the  other.  At  last  the  speakers  seemed  to  have  paused, 
and  perhaps  to  have  sat  down,  for  the  birds  began  to  settle  again  to 
their  places  in  the  swamp. 

And  now  I  began  to  feel  that  I  was  neglecting  my  business ;  that 
since  I  had  been  so  foolhardy  as  to  come  ashore  with  these  desperadoes, 
the  least  I  could  do  was  to  overhear  them  at  their  councils.  Crawling 
on  all  fours,  I  made  steadily  but  slowly  toward  them,  till  at  last,  raising 
my  head  to  an  aperture  among  the  leaves,  I  could  see  clear  down  into  a 
little  green  dell  beside  the  marsh,  and  closely  set  about  with  trees,  where 
Lone  John  Silver  and  another  of  the  crew  stood  face  to  face  in  con- 
versation. 

The  sun  beat  full  upon  them.  Silver  had  thrown  his  hat  beside 
him  on  the  ground,  and  his  great,  smooth,  blond  face  was  lifted  to  the 
other  man's  in  a  kind  of  appeal.  "Mate,"  he  was  saying,  "it's  because 
I  thinks  gold-dust  of  you — gold-dust,  and  you  may  lay  to  that !  If  I 
hadn't  took  to  you  like  pitch,  do  you  think  I'd  have  been  here 
a-warning  of  you?  All's  up — you  can't  make  nor  mend;  it's  to  save 
your  neck  that  I'm  a-speaking,  and  if  one  of  the  wild  'uns  knew  it, 
where  'ud  I  be,  Tom?" — "Silver,"  said  the  other  man — and  I  observed 
he  was  not  only  red  in  the  face,  but  spoke  as  hoarse  as  a  crow,  and  his 
voice  shook,  too,  like  a  taut  rope — "Silver,"  says  he,  "you're  honest,  or 
has  the  name  for  it;  and  you've  money,  too,  and  you're  brave,  or  I'm 
mistook.     And  will  you  tell  me  you'll  let  yourself  be  led  away  with 


TREASURE    ISLAND  65 

that  kind  of  a  mess  of  swabs?  Not  you!  As  sure  as  God  sees  me,  I'd 
sooner  lose  my  hand.     If  I  turn  again  my  dooty " 

And  then  all  of  a  sudden  he  was  interrupted  by  a  noise.  I  had 
found  one  of  the  honest  hands — well,  here,  at  that  same  moment,  came 
news  of  another.  Far  away  out  in  the  marsh  there  arose,  all  of  a 
sudden,  a  sound  like  the  cry  of  anger,  then  another  on  the  back  of  it, 
and  then  one  horrid,  long-drawn  scream. 

Tom  had  leaped  to  the  sound,  like  a  horse  at  the  spur;  but  Silver 
had  not  winked  an  eye.  He  stood  where  he  was,  resting  lightly  on  his 
crutch,  watching  his  companion  like  a  snake  about  to  spring.  "John!" 
said  the  sailor,  stretching  out  his  hand. — "Hands  off!"  cried  Silver, 
leaping  back  a  yard,  as  it  seemed  to  me,  with  the  speed  and  security  of 
a  trained  gymnast. — "Hands  off,  if  you  like,  John  Silver,"  said  the 
other.  "It's  a  black  conscience  that  can  make  you  feared  of  me.  But, 
in  heaven's  name,  tell  me  what  was  that?" — "That,"  returned  Silver, 
smiling  away,  but  warier  than  ever;  "that?  Oh,  I  reckon  that'll  be 
Alan." — And  at  this  poor  Tom  flashed  out  like  a  hero.  "Alan!"  he 
cried.  "Then  rest  his  soul  for  a  true  seaman!  And  as  for  you,  John 
Silver,  long  you've  been  a  mate  of  mine,  but  you're  mate  of  mine  no 
more.  If  I  die  like  a  dog  I'll  die  in  my  dooty.  You've  killed  Alan, 
have  you?     Kill  me  too,  if  you  can.     But  I  defies  you." 

And  with  that  this  brave  fellow  turned  his  back  directly  on  the 
cook  and  set  off  walking  for  the  beach.  But  he  was  not  destined  to 
go  far.  With  a  cry  John  seized  the  branch  of  a  tree,  whipped  the 
crutch  out  of  his  armpit,  and  sent  that  uncouth  missile  hurling  through 
the  air.  It  struck  Tom,  point  foremost,  and  with  stunning  violence, 
right  between  the  shoulders  in  the  middle  of  his  back.  He  gave  a  sort 
of  gasp  and  fell.  Whether  he  was  injured  much  or  little,  none  could 
ever  tell.  Like  enough  to  judge  from  the  sound,  his  back  was  broken 
on  the  spot.  But  he  had  no  time  given  him  to  recover.  Silver  was  on 
the  top  of  him  next  moment,  and  had  twice  buried  his  knife  up  to  the 
hilt  in  that  defenseless  body. 


66  TREASURE    ISLAND 

I  do  not  know  what  it  rightly  is  to  faint,  but  I  do  know  that  for 
the  next  little  while  the  whole  world  swam  away  from  before  me  in  a 
whirling  mist.  When  I  came  again  to  myself  the  monster  had  pulled 
himself  together,  his  crutch  under  his  arm,  his  hat  upon  his  head.  Just 
before  him  Tom  lay  motionless  upon  the  sward.  Everything  else  was 
unchanged,  the  sun  still  shining  mercilessly  upon  the  steaming  marsh 
and  the  tall  pinnacle  of  the  mountain. 

But  now  John  put  his  hand  into  his  pocket,  brought  out  a  whistle, 
and  blew  upon  it  several  modulated  blasts,  that  rang  far  across  the 
heated  air.  I  could  not  tell,  of  course,  the  meaning  of  the  signal,  but 
it  instantly  awoke  my  fears.  More  men  would  be  coming.  I  might 
be  discovered.  They  had  already  slain  two  of  the  honest  jieople;  after 
Tom  and  Alan,  might  not  I  come  next?  Instantly  I  began  to  extri- 
cate myself  and  crawl  back  again,  with  what  speed  and  silence  I  could 
manage,  to  the  more  open  portion  of  the  wood.  As  I  did  so  I  could 
hear  hails  coming  and  going  between  the  old  buccaneer  and  his 
comrades,  and  this  sound  of  danger  lent  me  wings.  I  ran  as  I  never 
ran  before,  and  as  I  ran,  fear  grew  upon  me,  until  it  turned  into  a 
kind  of  frenzy.  Indeed,  could  any  one  be  more  entirely  lost  than  I? 
When  the  gun  fired,  how  should  I  dare  to  go  down  to  the  boats  among 
those  fiends,  still  smoking  from  their  crime?  Would  not  the  first  of 
them  who  saw  me  wring  my  neck  like  a  snipe's?  It  was  all  over,  I 
thought.  Good-by  to  the  Hispaniola,  good-by  to  the  squire,  the  doc- 
tor, and  the  captain.  There  was  nothing  left  for  me  but  death  by 
starvation,  or  death  by  the  hands  of  the  mutineers. 

All  this  while  I  was  running,  and  got  into  a  part  of  the  island 
where  the  wild  oaks  grew  more  widely  apart.  Mingled  with  these 
were  a  few  scattered  pines.  The  air,  too,  smelled  more  freshly  than 
down  beside  the  marsh.  And  here  a  fresh  alarm  brought  me  to  a 
standstill  with  a  thumping  heart. 


TREASURE    ISLAND  67 


CHAPTER    XV 

THE    MAX    OF   THE    ISLAND 

From  the  side  of  the  hill,  which  was  here  steep  and  stony,  a  spout 
of  gravel  was  dislodged,  and  fell  rattling  and  bounding  through  the 
trees.  My  eyes  turned  instinctively  in  that  direction,  and  I  saw  a 
figure  leap  with  great  rapidity  behind  the  trunk  of  a  pine.  What 
it  was,  whether  hear,  or  man,  or  monkey,  I  could  in  no  wise  tell.  But 
the  terror  of  this  new  apparition  brought  me  to  a  stand.  I  was  now, 
it  seemed,  cut  off  upon  both  sides;  behind  me  the  murderers,  before 
me  this  lurking  nondescript.  I  began  to  prefer  the  dangers  that  I 
knew  to  those  I  knew  not,  and  I  turned  on  my  heel,  and,  looking 
sharply  behind  me  over  my  shoulder,  began  to  retrace  my  steps  in  the 
direction  of  the  boats. 

Instantly  the  figure  reappeared,  and,  making  a  wide  circuit, 
began  to  head  me  off.  I  was  tired,  but  had  I  been  as  fresh  as  when  I 
rose,  I  could  see  it  was  in  vain  for  me  to  contend  in  speed  with  such  an 
adversary.  From  trunk  to  trunk  the  creature  flitted  like  a  deer,  run- 
ning man-like  on  two  legs,  but  unlike  any  man  that  I  had  ever  seen, 
stooping  almost  double  as  it  ran.  Yet  a  man  it  was;  I  could  no  longer 
be  in  doubt  about  that.  I  began  to  recall  what  I  had  heard  of  canni- 
bals. I  was  within  an  ace  of  calling  for  help.  But  the  mere  fact 
that  he  was  a  man  had  somewhat  reassured  me,  and  my  fear  of  Silver 
began  to  revive  in  proportion.  I  stood  still  and  cast  about  for  some 
method  of  escape,  and  as  I  was  so  thinking,  the  recollection  of  my 
pistol  flashed  into  my  mind.  As  soon  as  I  remembered  I  was  not 
defenseless  I  set  my  face  resolutely  for  this  man  of  the  island,  and 
walked  briskly  toward  him. 

He  was  concealed  by  this  time  behind  another  tree-trunk,  but  as 
soon  as  I  began  to  move  in  his  direction  he  reappeared  and  took  a  step 


68  TREASURE    ISLAND 

to  meet  me.  Then  he  hesitated,  drew  back,  came  forward  again,  and 
at  last,  to  my  wonder  and  confusion,  threw  himself  on  his  knees  and 
held  out  his  clasped  hands  in  supplication.  At  that  I  once  more 
stopped.  "Who  are  you?"  I  asked. — "Ben  Gunn,"  he  answered,  and 
his  voice  sounded  hoarse  and  awkward,  like  a  rusty  lock.  "I'm  poor 
Ben  Gunn,  I  am;  and  I  haven't  spoke  with  a  Christian  these  three 
years." 

I  could  now  see  that  he  was  a  white  man  like  myself,  and  that  his 
features  were  even  pleasing.  He  was  clothed  with  tatters  of  old 
ship's  canvas  and  old  sea-cloth,  and  this  extraordinary  patchwork  was 
all  held  together  by  a  system  of  the  most  incongruous  fastenings,  brass 
buttons,  bits  of  stick,  and  loops  of  tarry  gaskin.  About  his  waist  he 
wore  an  old  brass-buckled  leather  belt,  which  was  the  one  thing  solid 
in  his  whole  accouterment. 

"Three  years!"  I  cried.  "Were  you  shipwrecked?" — "Nay, 
mate,"  said  he,  "marooned."  I  had  heard  the  word  and  I  knew  it 
stood  for  a  horrible  kind  of  punishment  common  enough  among  the 
buccaneers,  in  which  the  offender  is  put  ashore  with  a  little  powder 
and  shot  and  left  behind  on  some  desolate  and  distant  island.  "Ma- 
rooned three  years  agone,"  he  continued,  "and  lived  on  goats  since 
then,  and  berries  and  oysters.  Wherever  a  man  is,  says  I,  a  man  can 
do  for  himself.  But,  mate,  my  heart  is  sore  for  Christian  diet.  You 
mightn't  happen  to  have  a  piece  of  cheese  about  you,  now!  No? 
Well,  many's  the  long  night  I've  dreamed  of  cheese — toasted,  mostly — 
and  woke  up  again,  and  here  I  were." — "If  ever  I  can  get  aboard 
again,"  said  I,  "you  shall  have  cheese  by  the  stone." 

All  this  time  he  had  been  feeling  the  stuff  of  my  jacket,  smooth- 
ing my  hands,  looking  at  my  boots,  and  generally,  in  the  intervals  of 
his  speech,  showing  a  childish  pleasure  in  the  presence  of  a  fellow 
creature.  But  at  my  last  words  he  perked  up  into  a  kind  of  startled 
slyness.  "If  ever  you  get  aboard  again,  says  you?"  he  repealed. 
"Why,  now,  who's  to  hinder  you?" — "Not  you,  I  know,"  was  my 


TREASURE    ISLAND  69 

reply. — "And  right  you  was,"  he  cried.  "Now  you — what  do  you 
call  yourself,  mate?" — "Jim,"  I  told  him. — "Jim,  Jim,"  says  he,  quite 
pleased,  apparently.  "Well,  now,  Jim,  I've  lived  that  rough  you'd  be 
ashamed  to  a  hear  of.  Now,  for  instance,  you  wouldn't  think  I  had 
had  a  pious  mother — to  look  at  me?"  he  asked. — "Why,  no,  not  in  par- 
ticular," I  answered. 

"Ah,  well,"  said  he,  "but  I  had — remarkable  pious.  And  I  was 
a  civil,  pious  boy,  and  could  rattle  off  my  catechism  that  fast  as  you 
couldn't  tell  one  word  from  another.  And  here's  what  it  come  to, 
Jim.  But  it  were  Providence  that  put  me  here.  I've  thought  it  all 
out  in  this  here  lonely  island  and  I'm  back  on  piety.  You  can't  catch 
me  tasting  rum  so  much,  but  just  a  thimbleful  for  luck,  of  course,  the 
first  chance  I  have.  I'm  bound  I'll  be  good,  and  I  see  the  way  to. 
And,  Jim" — looking  all  round  him  and  lowering  his  voice  to  a  whisper 
— "I'm  rich — rich — rich!  I  says — and  I'll  tell  you  what,  I'll  make 
a  man  of  you,  Jim.  Ah,  Jim,  you'll  bless  your  stars,  you  will,  you 
was  the  first  that  found  me!" 

And  at  this  there  came  suddenly  a  lowering  shadow  over  his  face 
and  he  tightened  his  grasp  upon  my  hand  and  raised  a  forefinger 
threateningly  before  my  eyes.  "Now,  Jim,  you  tell  me  true;  that  ain't 
Flint's  ship?"  he  asked.  At  this  I  had  a  happy  inspiration.  I  began 
to  believe  that  I  had  found  an  ally,  and  I  answered  him  at  once.  "It's 
not  Flint's  ship  and  Flint  is  dead,  but  I'll  tell  you  true,  as  you  ask  me 
— there  are  some  of  Flint's  hands  aboard;  worse  luck  for  the  rest  of 
us." — "Not  a  man — -with — one — leg?"  he  gasped. — "Silver?"  I  asked. 
— "Ah,  Silver!"  says  he,  "that  were  his  name." — "He's  the  cook,  and 
the  ringleader,  too."  He  was  still  holding  me  by  the  wrist,  and  at 
that  he  gave  it  quite  a  wring. — "If  you  was  sent  by  Long  John,"  he 
said,  "I'm  as  good  as  pork  and  I  know  it.  But  where  was  you,  do  you 
suppose?" 

I  had  made  my  mind  up  in  a  moment,  and  by  way  of  answer  told 
him  the  whole  story  of  our  voyage  and  the  predicament  in  which  we 


70  TREASURE    ISLAND 

found  ourselves.  He  heard  me  with  the  keenest  interest,  and  when  I 
had  done  he  patted  me  on  the  head.  "You're  a  good  lad,  Jim,"  he 
said,  "and  you're  all  in  a  clove  hitch,  ain't  you?  Well,  you  just  put 
your  trust  in  Ben  Gunn — Ben  Gunn's  the  man  to  do  it.  Would  you 
think  it  likely,  now,  that  your  squire  would  prove  a  liberal-minded 
one  in  case  of  help — him  being  in  a  clove  hitch,  as  you  remark?"  I 
told  him  the  squire  was  the  most  liberal  of  men. 

"Ay,  but  you  see,"  returned  Ben  Gunn,  "I  didn't  mean  giving 
me  a  gate  to  keep  and  a  suit  of  livery  clothes,  and  such ;  that's  not  my 
mark,  Jim.  What  I  mean  is,  would  he  be  likely  to  come  down  to  the 
toon  of,  say  one  thousand  pounds  out  of  money  that's  as  good  as  a 
man's  own  already?" — "I  am  sure  he  would,"  said  I.  "As  it  was,  all 
hands  were  to  share." — "And  a  passage  home?"  he  added,  with  a  look 
of  great  shrewdness. — "Why,"  I  cried,  "the  squire's  a  gentleman. 
And,  besides,  if  we  got  rid  of  the  others,  we  should  want  you  to  help 
work  the  vessel  home." — "Ah,"  said  he,  "so  you  would."  And  he 
seemed  very  much  relieved. 

"Now,  I'll  tell  you  what,"  he  went  on.  "I  were  in  Flint's  ship 
when  he  buried  the  treasure.  Billy  Bones  was  the  mate;  Long  John, 
he  was  quartermaster;  and  they  asked  him  where  the  treasure  was. 
Ah,'  says  he,  'you  can  go  ashore,  if  you  like,  and  stay,'  he  says;  'but 
as  for  the  ship,  she'll  beat  up  for  more,  by  thunder !'  That's  what 
he  said. 

"Well,  I  was  in  another  ship  three  years  back,  and  we  sighted  this 
island.  'Boys,'  said  I,  'here's  Flint's  treasure;  let's  land  and  find  it.' 
The  cap'n  was  displeased  at  that;  but  my  messmates  were  all  of  a  mind, 
and  landed.  Twelve  days  they  looked  for  it,  and  every  day  they  had 
the  worse  words  for  me,  until  one  fine  morning  all  hands  went  aboard. 
'As  for  you,  Benjamin  Gunn,'  says  they,  'here's  a  musket,'  they  bays, 
'and  a  spade,  and  pick-ax.  You  can  stay  here  and  find  Flint's 
money  for  yourself,'  they  says.  Well,  Jim,  three  years  have  I  been 
here,  and  not  a  bite  of  Christian  diet  from  that  day  to  this.     But  now, 


TREASURE    ISLAND 


7! 


Page  79 


72  TREASURE    ISLAND 

look  you  here:  look  at  me.  Do  I  look  like  a  man  before  the  mast? 
No,  says  you.  Nor  I  weren't,  neither,  I  says."  And  with  that  he 
winked  and  pinched  me  hard.  "Hi!"  he  broke  out,  "what's  that?" 
For  just  then,  although  the  sun  had  still  an  hour  or  two  to  run,  all  the 
echoes  of  the  island  awoke  and  bellowed  to  the  thunder  of  a  cannon. 

"They  have  begun  to  fight!"  I  cried.  "Follow  me!"  And  I 
began  to  run  toward  the  anchorage,  my  terrors  all  forgotten;  while, 
close  at  my  side,  the  marooned  man  in  his  goatskins,  trotted  easily  and 
lightly.  "Left,  left,"  says  he;  "keep  to  your  left  hand,  mate  Jim! 
Under  the  trees  with  you!  There's  where  I  killed  my  first  goat." 
The  cannon-shot  was  followed,  after  a  considerable  interval,  by  a 
volley  of  small  arms.  Another  pause,  and  then,  not  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  in  front  of  me,  I  beheld  the  Union  Jack  flutter  in  the  air  above 
a  wood. 


CHAPTER    XVI 

NARRATIVE  CONTINUED  BY  THE  DOCTOR HOW  THE  SHIP  WAS 

ABANDONED 

It  was  about  half -past  one — three  bells  in  the  sea  phrase — that 
the  two  boats  went  ashore  from  the  Hispaniola.  The  captain,  the 
squire,  and  I  were  talking  matters  over  in  the  cabin.  Had  there  been 
a  breath  of  wind,  we  should  have  fallen  on  the  six  mutineers  who  were 
left  aboard  with  us,  slipped  our  cable,  and  away  to  sea.  But  the  wind 
was  wanting;  and,  to  complete  our  helplessness,  down  came  Hunter 
with  the  news  that  Jim  Hawkins  had  slipped  into  a  boat  and  was  gone 
ashore  with  the  rest.  We  ran  on  deck.  The  six  scoundrels  were  sit- 
ting grumbling  under  a  sail  in  the  forecastle;  ashore  we  could  see  the 
gigs  made  fast,  and  a  man  sitting  in  each,  hard  by  where  the  river 
runs  in.     One  of  them  was  whistling  "Lullibullero."     Waiting  was 


TREASURE    ISLAND  73 

a  strain,  and  it  was  decided  that  Hunter  and  I  should  go  ashore  with 
the  jolly-boat,  in  quest  of  information. 

The  gigs  had  leaned  to  their  right,  but  Hunter  and  I  pulled 
straight  in,  in  the  direction  of  the  stockade  upon  the  chart.  The  two 
who  were  left  guarding  their  boats  seemed  in  a  bustle  at  our  appear- 
ance; "'Lillibullero"  stopped  off,  and  I  could  see  the  pair  discussing 
what  they  ought  to  do.  Had  they  gone  and  told  Silver,  all  might 
have  turned  out  differently;  but  they  had  their  orders,  I  suppose,  and 
decided  to  sit  quietly  where  they  were  and  hark  back  again  to 
"Lillibullero." 

There  was  a  slight  bend  in  the  coast,  and  I  steered  so  as  to  put  it 
between  us.  Even  before  we  landed  we  had  thus  lost  sight  of  the 
gigs;  I  jumped  out  and  came  as  near  running  as  I  dared,  and  I  had 
not  gone  a  hundred  yards  when  I  came  on  the  stockade. 

This  was  how  it  was:  A  spring  of  clear  water  arose  at  the  top  of 
a  knoll.  Well  on  the  knoll,  and  inclosing  the  spring,  they  had  clapped 
a  stout  log-house,  fit  to  hold  two  score  people  on  a  pinch,  and  loop- 
holed  for  musketry  on  every  side.  All  around  this  they  had  cleared 
a  wide  space,  and  then  the  thing  was  completed  by  a  paling  six  feet 
high,  without  door  or  opening,  too  strong  to  pull  down  without  time 
and  labor,  and  too  open  to  shelter  the  besiegers.  Short  of  a  complete 
surprise,  they  might  have  held  the  place  against  a  regiment.  What 
particularly  took  my  fancy  was  the  spring.  For,  though  we  had  a 
good  enough  place  of  it  in  the  cabin  of  the  Hispaniola,  we  had  no 
water.  I  was  thinking  this  over,  when  there  came  ringing  over  the 
island  the  cry  of  a  man  at  the  point  of  death.  I  was  not  new  to 
violent  death,  but  I  know  my  pulse  went  dot  and  carry  one.  "'Jim 
Hawkins  is  gone,"  was  my  first  thought. 

It  is  something  to  have  been  an  old  soldier,  but  more  still  to  have 
been  a  doctor.  And  so  now  I  made  up  my  mind  instantly,  and  with 
no  time  lost  returned  to  the  shore  and  jumped  on  board  the  jolly-boat. 
By  good  fortune  Hunter  pulled  a  good  oar.     We  made  the  water 


74  TREASURE    ISLAND 

fly,  and  the  boat  was  soon  alongside  and  I  aboard  the  schooner.  I 
found  them  all  shaken,  as  was  natural.  The  squire  was  sitting  down, 
as  white  as  a  sheet,  thinking  of  the  harm  he  had  led  us  to,  the  good 
soul!  and  one  of  the  six  forecastle  hands  was  little  better.  "There's 
a  man,"  said  Captain  Smollett,  nodding  toward  him,  "new  to  this 
work.  He  came  nigh-hand  fainting,  doctor,  when  he  heard  the  cry. 
Another  touch  of  the  rudder,  and  that  man  would  join  us."  I  told 
my  plan  to  the  captain,  and  between  us  we  settled  on  the  details  of  its 
accomplishment. 

We  put  old  Redruth  in  the  gallery  between  the  cabin  and  the 
forecastle,  with  three  or  four  loaded  muskets  and  a  mattress  for  pro- 
tection. Hunter  brought  the  boat  round  under  the  stem  port,  rmd 
Joyce  and  I  set  to  work  loading  her  with  powder,  tins,  muskets,  bags 
of  biscuit,  kegs  of  pork,  a  cask  of  cognac,  and  my  invaluable  medicine 
chest.  In  the  meantime  the  squire  and  the  captain  stayed  on  deck, 
and  the  latter  hailed  the  cockswain,  who  was  the  principal  man  aboard. 
"Hands,"  he  said,  "here  are  two  of  us  with  a  brace  of  pistols  each.  If 
any  one  of  you  six  make  a  signal  of  any  description,  that  man's  dead." 
They  were  a  good  deal  taken  aback;  and,  after  a  little  consultation, 
one  and  all  tumbled  down  the  fore  companion,  thinking,  no  doubt,  to 
take  us  on  the  rear.  But  when  they  saw  Redruth  waiting  for  them 
in  the  sparred  gallery,  they  went  about  ship  at  once,  and  a  head  popped 
out  again  on  deck.  "Down,  dog!"  cried  the  captain.  And  the  head 
popped  back  again,  and  we  heard  no  more  for  the  time  of  these  six 
very  faint-hearted  seamen. 

By  this  time,  tumbling  things  in  as  they  came,  we  had  the  jolly- 
boat  loaded  as  much  as  we  dared.  Joyce  and  I  got  out  through  the 
stern  port,  and  we  made  for  shore  again,  as  fast  as  oars  could  take  us. 
This  second  trip  fairly  aroused  the  watchers  along  shore.  "Lulli- 
bullero"  was  dropped  again,  and  just  before  we  lost  sight  of  them 
behind  the  little  point,  one  of  them  whipped  ashore  and  disappeared. 

We  had  soon  touched  land  in  the  same  place  as  before  and  set  to 


TREASURE    ISLAND  75 

provision  the  block-house.  All  three  made  the  first  journey,  heavily 
laden,  and  tossed  our  stores  over  the  palisade.  Then,  leaving  Joyce 
to  guard  them,  Hunter  and  I  returned  to  the  jolly-boat,  and  loaded 
ourselves  once  more.  So  we  proceeded,  without  pausing  to  take 
breath,  till  the  whole  cargo  was  bestowed,  when  the  two  servants  took 
up  their  position  in  the  block-house,  and  I,  with  all  my  power,  sculled 
back  to  the  Hispaniola.  That  we  should  have  risked  a  second  boat- 
load seems  more  daring  than  it  really  was.  They  had  the  advantage 
of  numbers,  of  course,  but  we  had  the  advantage  of  arms.  Not  one  of 
the  men  ashore  had  a  musket,  and  before  they  could  get  within  range 
for  pistol  shooting,  we  flattered  ourselves  we  should  be  able  to  givre  a 
good  account  of  a  half  dozen  at  least. 

The  squire  was  waiting  for  me  at  the  sterzi  window,  all  his  faint- 
ness  gone  from  him.  He  caught  the  painter  and  made  it  fast,  and 
we  fell  to  loading  the  boat  for  our  very  lives.  Pork,  powder,  and 
biscuit  was  the  cargo,  with  only  a  musket  and  a  cutlass  apiece  for 
squire  and  me  and  Redruth  and  the  captain.  The  rest  of  the  arms- 
and  powder  we  dropped  overboard  in  two  fathoms  and  a  half  of  water, 
so  that  we  could  see  the  bright  steel  shining  far  below  us  in  the  sun 
on  the  clean,  sandy  bottom.  By  this  time  the  tide  was  beginning  to 
ebb,  and  the  ship  was  swinging  round  to  her  anchor.  Voices  were 
heard  faintly  halloaing  in  the  direction  of  the  two  gigs;  and  though 
this  reassured  us  for  Joyce  and  Hunter,  who  were  well  to  the  east- 
ward, it  warned  our  party  to  be  off. 

Redruth  retreated  from  his  place  in  the  gallery  and  dropped  into 
the  boat,  which  we  then  brought  round  to  the  ship's  counter,  to  be 
handier  for  Captain  Smollett.  "Now,  men,"  said  he,  "do  you  hear 
me?"  There  was  no  answer  from  the  forecastle.  "It's  to  you,  Abra- 
ham Gray — it's  to  you  I  am  speaking." 

Still  no  reply.  "Gray,"  resumed  Smollett,  a  little  louder,  "I  am 
leaving  this  ship,  and  I  order  you  to  follow  your  captain.  I  know  you 
are  a  good  man  at  bottom,  and  I  dare  say  not  one  of  the  lot  of  you's 


76  TREASURE    ISLAND 

as  bad  as  he  makes  out.  I  have  my  watch  here  in  my  hand;  I  give 
you  thirty  seconds  to  join  me  in."  There  Avas  a  pause.  "Come,  my 
fine  fellow,"  continued  the  captain,  "don't  hang  so  long  in  stays.  I'm 
risking  my  life  and  the  lives  of  these  good  gentlemen  every  second." 
There  was  a  sudden  scuffle,  a  sound  of  blows,  and  out  burst  Abraham 
Gray  with  a  knife-cut  dn  the  side  of  the  cheek,  and  came  running  to 
the  captain,  like  a  dog  to  the  whistle. — "I'm  with  you,  sir,"  said  he. 
And  the  next  moment  he  and  the  captain  had  dropped  aboard  of  us, 
and  we  had  shoved  off  and  given  way.  We  were  clear  out  of  the  ship, 
but  not  yet  ashore  in  our  stockade. 


CHAPTER    XVII 


THE    JOLLY-BOAT  S   LAST    TRIP 


This  fifth  trip  was  quite  different  from  any  of  the  others.  In 
the  first  place,  the  little  gallipot  of  a  boat  that  we  were  in  was 
gravely  overloaded.  Five  grown  men  was  already  more  than  she  was 
meant  to  cany.  Add  to  that  the  powder,  pork,  and  the  bread-bags. 
The  gunwale  was  lipping  astern.  Several  times  we  shipped  a  little 
water,  and  my  breeches  and  the  tails  of  my  coat  were  all  soaking  wet 
before  we  had  gone  a  hundred  yards.  The  captain  made  us  trim  the 
boat,  and  we  got  her  to  lie  a  little  more  evenly.  All  the  same,  we  were 
afraid  to  breathe. 

In  the  second  place,  the  ebb  was  now  making — a  strong,  rippling 
current  running  westward  through  the  basin.  "I  can  not  keep  her 
head  for  the  stockade,  sir,"  said  I  to  the  captain.  I  was  steering,  while 
he  and  Redruth,  two  fresh  men,  were  at  the  oars.  "The  tide  keeps 
washing  her  down.  Could  you  pull  a  little  stronger?" — "Not  with- 
out swamping  the  boat,"  said  he.  "You  must  bear  up,  sir,  if  you 
please — bear  up  until  you  see  you're  gaining." 


TREASURE    ISLAND  77 

I  tried,  and  found  by  experiment  that  the  tide  kept  sweeping  us 
westward  until  I  had  laid  her  head  due  east,  or  just  about  right  angles 
to  the  way  we  ought  to  go.  "We'll  never  get  ashore  at  this  rate,"  said 
I. — "If  it's  the  only  course  that  we  can  lie,  sir,  we  must  even  lie  it," 
returned  the  captain.  "We  must  keep  up  stream.  You  see,  sir,"  he 
went  on,  "if  once  we  dropped  to  leeward  of  the  landing-place,  it's 
hard  to  say  where  we  should  get  ashore,  besides  the  chance  of  being 
boarded  by  the  gigs ;  whereas,  the  way  we  go  the  current  must  slacken, 
and  then  we  can  dodge  back  along  the  shore."-  "The  current's  less 
a'ready,  sir,"  said  the  man  Gray,  who  was  sitting  in  the  fore-sheets; 
"you  can  ease  her  off  a  bit."  "Thank  you,  my  man,"  said  I,  quite  as 
if  nothing  had  happened,  for  we  had  all  quietly  made  up  our  minds 
to  treat  him  like  one  of  ourselves. 

Suddenly  the  captain  spoke  up  again,  and  I  thought  his  voice 
was  a  little  changed.  "The  gun!"  said  he. — "I  have  thought  of  that," 
said  I,  for  I  made  sure  he  was  thinking  of  a  bombardment  of  the  fort. 
"They  could  never  get  the  gun  ashore,  and  if  they  did,  they  could  never 
haul  it  through  the  woods." — "Look  astern,  doctor,"  replied  the 
captain. 

We  had  entirely  forgotten  the  long  nine ;  and  there,  to  our  horror, 
were  the  five  rogues  busy  about  her,  getting  off  her  jacket,  as  they 
called  the  stout  tarpaulin  cover  under  which  she  sailed.  Not  only 
that,  but  it  flashed  into  my  mind  at  the  same  moment  that  the  round 
shot  and  the  powder  for  the  gun  had  been  left  behind,  and  a  stroke 
with  an  ax  would  put  it  all  into  the  possession  of  the  evil  ones  aboard. 
"Israel  was  Flint's  gunner,"  said  Gray,  hoarsely. 

At  any  risk,  we  put  the  boat's  head  direct  for  the  landing-place. 
By  this  time  we  had  got  so  far  out  of  the  run  of  the  current  that  we 
kept  steerage-way  even  at  our  necessarily  gentle  rate  of  rowing,  and 
I  could  keep  her  steady  for  the  goal.  But  the  worst  of  it  was,  that 
with  the  course  I  now  held,  we  turned  our  broadside  instead  of  our 
stern  to  the  Hispaniola,  and  offered  a  target  like  a  barn  door.     I  could 


78  TREASURE    ISLAND 

hear,  as  well  as  see,  that  brandy-faced  rascal,  Israel  Hands,  plumping 
down  a  round  shot  on  the  deck.  "Who's  the  best  shot?"  asked  the 
captain. — "Mr.  Trelawney,  out  and  away,"  said  I. — "Mr.  Trelawney, 
will  you  please  pick  me  off  one  of  those  men,  sir?  Hands,  if  possible," 
said  the  captain.  Trelawney  was  as  cold  as  steel.  He  looked  to  the 
priming  of  his  gun.  "Now,"  cried  the  captain,  "easy  with  that  gun, 
sir,  or  you'll  swamp  the  boat.  All  hands  stand  by  to  trim  her  when  he 
aims."  The  squire  raised  his  gun,  the  rowing  ceased,  and  we  leaned 
over  to  the  other  side  to  keep  the  balance,  and  all  was  so  nicely  contrived 
that  we  did  not  ship  a  drop.  They  had  the  gun,  by  this  time,  slewed 
around  upon  the  swivel,  and  Hands,  who  was  at  the  muzzle,  with  the 
rammer,  was,  in  consequence,  the  most  exposed.  However,  we  had 
no  luck;  for  just  as  Trelawney  fired,  down  he  stooped,  the  ball  whist- 
ling over  him,  and  it  was  one  of  the  other  four  who  fell. 

The  cry  he  gave  was  echoed,  not  only  by  his  companions  on.board, 
but  by  a  great  number  of  voices  from  the  shore,  and  looking  in  that 
direction  I  saw  the  other  pirates  trooping  out  from  among  the 
trees  and  tumbling  into  their  places  in  the  boats.  "Here  come  the 
gigs,  sir,"  said  I. — "Give  way,  then,"  said  the  captain.  "We  mustn't 
mind  if  we  swamp  her  now.  If  we  can't  get  ashore,  all's  up." — "Only 
one  of  the  gigs  is  being  manned,  sir,"  I  added;  "the  crew  of  the  other 
is  most  likely  going  round  by  shore  to  cut  us  off." — "They'll  have  a 
hot  run,  sir,"  returned  the  captain.  "It's  not  them  I  mind;  it's  the 
round  shot.  Tell  us,  squire,  when  you  see  the  match,  and  we'll  hold 
water." 

In  the  meantime  we  had  been  making  headway  at  a  good  pace 
for  a  boat  so  overloaded,  and  we  had  shipped  but  little  water  in  the 
process.  We  were  now  close  in;  thirty  or  forty  strokes  and  we  should 
beach  her,  for  the  ebb  had  already  disclosed  a  narrow  belt  of  sand  below 
the  clustering  trees.  The  gig  was  no  longer  to  be  feared.  The  one 
source  of  danger  was  the  gun.  "If  I  dared,"  said  the  captain,  "I'd 
stop  and  pick  off  another  man."     But  it  was  plain  that  they  meant 


TREASURE    ISLAND  ?9 

nothing  should  delay  their  shot.  They  had  never  so  much  as  looked 
at  their  fallen  comrade. — "Ready!"  cried  the  squire. — "Hold!"  cried 
the  captain,  quick  as  an  echo.  And  he  and  Redruth  hacked  with  a 
great  heave  that  sent  her  stern  bodily  under  water.  The  report  fell 
in  at  the  same  instant  of  time.  When  the  ball  passed,  not  one  of  us 
precisely  knew,  but  I  fancy  it  must  have  been  over  our  heads.  At  any 
rate,  the  boat  sunk  by  the  stern  in  three  feet  of  water,  leaving  the 
captain  and  myself,  facing  each  other,  on  our  feet.  The  other  three 
took  complete  headers,  and  came  up  again,  drenched  and  bubbling. 

So  far  there  was  no  great  harm.  No  lives  were  lost,  and  we  could 
wade  ashore  in  safety.  But  there  were  all  our  stores  at  the  bottom, 
and  only  two  guns  out  of  five  remained  in  a  state  for  service.  Mine  I 
had  snatched  from  my  knees,  and  held  over  my  head,  by  a  sort  of 
instinct.  As  for  the  captain,  he  had  carried  his  over  his  shoulder  by 
a  bandoleer,  and  lock  uppermost.  The  other  three  had  gone  down 
with  the  boat.  To  add  to  our  concern,  we  heard  voices  already  draw- 
ing near  us  in  the  woods  along  shore ;  and  we  had  not  only  the  danger 
of  being  cut  off  from  the  stockade  in  our  half-crippled  state,  but  the 
fear  before  us  whether,  if  Hunter  and  Joyce  were  attacked  by  half  a 
dozen,  they  would  have  the  sense  and  conduct  to  stand  firm.  With 
all  this  in  our  minds,  we  waded  ashore  as  fast  as  we  could,  leaving 
behind  us  the  poor  jolly-boat,  and  a  good  half  of  all  our  powder  and 
provisions. 


80  TREASURE    ISLAND 


CHAPTER   XVIII 

END    OF    THE    FIRST   DAY'S    FIGHTING 

t 

We  made  our  best  speed  across  the  strip  of  wood  that  now  divided 
us  from  the  stockade,  and  at  every  step  we  took  the  voices  of  the 
buccaneers  rang  nearer.  Soon  we  could  hear  their  footfalls  as  they 
ran.  I  began  to  see  we  should  have  a  brush  for  it  in  earnest,  and 
looked  to  my  priming.  "Captain,"  said  I,  "Trelawney  is  the  dead 
shot.  Give  him  your  gun;  his  own  is  useless."  They  exchanged 
guns,  and  Trelawney,  silent  and  cool,  as  he  had  been  since  the  begin- 
ning of  the  bustle,  hung  a  moment  on  his  heel  to  see  that  all  was  fit 
for  service.  At  the  same  time,  observing  Gray  to  be  unarmed,  I 
handed  him  my  cutlass. 

Forty  paces  farther,  we  came  to  the  edge  of  the  wood  and  saw 
the  stockade  in  front  of  us.  We  struck  the  inclosure  about  the  middle 
of  the  south  side,  and,  almost  at  the  same  time,  seven  mutineers — Job 
Anderson,  the  boatswain,  at  their  head — appeared  in  full  cry  at  the 
southwestern  corner.  They  paused,  as  if  taken  aback,  and  before 
they  recovered,  not  only  the  squire  and  I,  but  Hunter  and  Joyce  from 
the  block-house,  had  time  to  fire.  The  four  shots  came  in  rather  a 
scattering  volley,  but  they  did  the  business;  one  of  the  enemy  actually 
fell,  and  the  rest,  without  hesitation,  turned  and  jmmged  into  the 
trees.  After  reloading  we  walked  down  the  outside  of  the  palisade 
to  see  to  the  fallen  enemy.  He  was  stone  dead,  shot  through  the 
heart. 

We  began  to  rejoice  over  our  good  success,  when  just  at  that 
moment  a  pistol  cracked  in  the  bush,  a  ball  whistled  close  past  my  ear, 
and  poor  Tom  Redruth  stumbled  and  fell  his  length  on  the  ground. 
Both  the  squire  and  I  returned  the  shot,  but  as  we  had  nothing  to  aim 
at,  it  is  probable  we  only  wasted  powder.     I  believe  the  readiness  of 


TREASURE    ISLAND 


81 


Page  97. 


82  TREASURE    ISLAND 

our  return  volley  had  scattered  the  mutineers  once  more,  for  we  were 
suffered  without  further  molestation  to  get  the  poor  old  gamekeeper 
hoisted  over  the  stockade,  and  carried  into  the  log-house.  Poor  fel- 
low! he  had  not  uttered  one  word  of  complaint,  fear,  or  even  acquies- 
cence, from  the  very  beginning  of  our  troubles  till  now,  when  we  laid 
him  down  in  the  log-hotise  to  die.  He  had  followed  every  order 
silently  and  well;  he  was  the  oldest  of  our  party  by  a  score  of  years; 
and  now  it  was  he  that  was  to  die.  The  squire  dropped  down  beside 
him  on  his  knees  and  kissed  his  hand,  crying  like  a  child.  "Tom," 
said  the  squire,  "say  you  forgive  me,  won't  you?" — "Would  that  be 
respectful  like,  from  me  to  you,  squire?"  was  the  answer.  "Howso- 
ever, so  be  it,  amen!"  After  a  little  while  of  silence  he  said  he  thought 
somebody  might  read  a  prayer.  "It's  the  custom,  sir,"  he  added,  apol- 
ogetically. And  not  long  after,  without  another  word,  he  passed 
away. 

In  the  meantime  the  captain,  whom  I  had  observed  to  be  wonder- 
fully swollen  about  the  chest  and  pockets,  had  turned  out  a  great  man}' 
various  stores — the  British  colors,  a  Bible,  a  coil  of  stoutish  rope,  pen, 
ink,  the  log-book,  and  pounds  of  tobacco.  He  had  found  a  longish 
fir-tree  lying  felled  and  cleared  in  the  inclosure,  and  with  the  help  of 
Hunter,  he  had  set  it  up  at  the  corner  of  the  log-house  where  the  trunks 
crossed  and  made  an  angle.  Then,  climbing  on  the  roof,  he  had  ivith 
his  own  hand  bent  and  run  up  the  colors.  This  seemed  mightily  to 
relieve  him.  He  re-entered  the  log-house  and  set  about  counting  up 
the  stores,  as  if  nothing  else  existed.  But  he  had  an  eye  on  Tom's 
passage  for  all  that,  and  as  soon  as  all  was  over  came  forward  with 
another  flag  and  reverently  spread  it  on  the  body.  "Don't  you  take 
on,  sir,"  he  said,  shaking  the  squire's  hand.  "All's  well  with  him;  no 
fear  for  a  hand  that's  been  shot  down  in  his  duty  to  captain  and 
owner.     It  mayn't  be  good  divinity,  but  it's  a  fact." 

Then  he  pulled  me  aside.  "Doctor  Livesey,"  he  said,  "in  how 
many  weeks  do  you  and  squire  expect  the  consort?" — I  told  him  it  was 


TREASURE    ISLAND  83 

a  question,  not  of  weeks,  but  of  months;  that  if  we  were  not  back  by 
the  end  of  August,  Blandly  was  to  send  to  find  us,  but  neither  sooner 
nor  later.  "You  can  calculate  for  yourself,"  I  said.— -"Why,  yes," 
returned  the  captain,  scratching  his  head,  "and  making  a  large  allow- 
ance, sir,  for  all  the  gifts  of  Providence,  I  should  say  we  were  pretty 
close-hauled." — "How  do  you  mean?"  I  asked. — "It's  a  pity,  sir,  we 
lost  that  second  load.  That's  what  I  mean,"  replied  the  captain.  "As 
for  powder  and  shot,  we'll  do.  But  the  rations  are  short,  very  short- 
so  short,  Doctor  Livesey,  that  we're  perhaps  as  well  without  that  extra 
mouth."     And  he  pointed  to  the  dead  body  under  the  flag. 

Just  then,  with  a  roar  and  a  whistle,  a  round  shot  passed  high 
above  the  roof  of  the  log-house,  and  plumped  far  beyond  us  in  the 
wood.  "O-ho!"  said  the  captain.  "Blaze  away!  You've  little 
enough  powder  already,  my  lads."  At  the  second  trial  the  aim  was 
better  and  the  ball  descended  inside  the  stockade,  scattering  a  cloud 
of  sand,  but  doing  no  further  damage. — "Captain,"  said  the  squire, 
"the  house  is  quite  invisible  from  the  ship.  It  must  be  the  flag  they 
are  aiming  at.  Would  it  not  be  wiser  to  take  it  in?" — "Strike  my 
colors!"  cried  the  captain.  "No,  sir,  not  I,"  and  as  soon  as  he  had 
said  the  words  I  think  we  all  agreed  with  him.  For  it  was  not  only  a 
piece  of  stout,  seamanly  good  feeling;  it  was  good  policy  besides,  and 
showed  our  enemies  that  we  despised  their  cannonade. 

All  through  the  evening  they  kept  thundering  away.  Ball  after 
ball  flew  over  or  fell  short,  or  kicked  up  the  sand  in  the  inclosure 
but  they  had  to  fire  so  high  that  the  shot  fell  dead  and  buried  itself 
in  the  soft  sand.  "There  is  one  thing  good  about  all  this,"  observed 
the  captain;  "the  wood  in  front  of  us  is  likely  clear.  The  ebb  has 
made  a  good  while;  our  stores  should  be  uncovered.  Yolunteers  to 
go  and  bring  in  pork." 

Gray  and  Hunter  were  the  first  to  come  forward.  Well  armed, 
they  stole  out  of  the  stockade,  but  it  proved  a  useless  mission.  The 
mutineers  were  bolder  than  we  fancied,  or  they  put  more  trust  in 


84  TREASURE    ISLAND 

Israel's  gunnery,  for  four  or  five  of  them  were  busy  carrying  off  our 
stores  and  wading  out  with  them  to  one  of  the  gigs  that  lay  close  by, 
pulling  an  oar  or  so  to  hold  her  steady  against  the  current.  Silver 
was  in  the  stern-sheets  in  command,  and  every  man  of  them  was  now 
provided  with  a  musket  from  some  secret  magazine  of  their  own. 

The  captain  sat  down  to  his  log,  and  here  is  the  beginning  of  the 
entry : 

"Alexander  Smollett,  master;  David  Livesey,  ship's  doctor; 
Abraham  Gray,  carpenter's  mate;  John  Trelawney,  owner;  John 
Hunter  anfl  Richard  Joyce,  owner's  servants,  landsmen — being  all 
that  is  left  faithful  of  the  ship's  company — with  stores  for  ten  days 
at  short  rations,  came  ashore  this  day  and  flew  British  colors  on  the 
log-house  in  Treasure  Island.  Thomas  Redruth,  owner's  servant, 
landsman,  shot  by  the  mutineers;  James  Hawkins,  cabin-boy " 

And  at  the  same  time  I  was  wondering  over  poor  Jim  Hawkins' 
fate.  A  hail  on  the  land  side.  "Somebody  hailing  us,"  said  Hunter, 
who  was  on  guard. — "Doctor!  squire!  captain!  Hallo,  Hunter,  is  that 
you?"  came  the  cries.  And  I  ran  to  the  door  in  time  to  see  Jim 
Hawkins,  safe  and  sound,  come  climbing  over  the  stockade. 


CHAPTER    XIX 

NARRATIVE   RESUMED    BY   JIM    HAWKINS THE   GARRISON    AT   THE 

STOCKADE 

As  soon  as  Ben  Gunn  saw  the  colors  he  came  to  a  halt,  stopped  me 
by  the  arm  and  sat  down.  "Now,"  said  he,  "there's  your  friends,  sure 
enough." — "Far  more  likely  it's  the  mutineers,"  I  answered. — "That!" 
he  cried.  "Why,  in  a  place  like  this,  where  nobody  puts  in  but  gen'le- 
raen  of  fortune,  Silver  would  fly  the  Jolly  Roger,  you  don't  make  no 
doubt  of  that.  No,  that's  your  friends.  There's  been  blows,  too, 
and  I  reckon  your  friends  has  had  the  best  of  it,  and  here  they  a>re 


TREASURE    ISLAND  85 

ashore  in  the  old  stockade,  as  was  made  years  ago  by  Flint.  Ah,  he 
was  the  man  to  have  a  head-piece,  was  Flint !  Barring  rum,  his  match 
was  never  seen.  He  were  afraid  of  none,  not  he;  on'y  Silver — Silver 
was  that  genteel." — "Well,"  said  I,  "that  may  be  so,  and  so  be  it;  all 
the  more  reason  that  I  should  hurry  on  and  join  my  friends." — "Nay, 
mate,"  returned  Ben,  "not  you.  You're  a  good  boy,  or  I'm  mistook; 
but  you're  on'y  a  boy,  all  told.  Xow  Ben  Gunn  is  fly.  Rum  wouldn't 
bring  me  there,  where  you're  going — not  rum  wouldn't,  till  I  see  your 
born  gen'leman,  and  gets  it  on  his  word  of  honor.  And  you  won't 
forget  my  words. 

"And  when  Ben  Gunn  is  wanted  you  know  where  to  find  him, 
Jim.  Just  where  you  found  him  to-day.  And  him  that  comes  is  to 
have  a  white  thing  in  his  hand;  and  he's  to  come  alone.  Oh!  and  you'll 
say  this:  'Ben  Gunn,'  says  you,  'has  reasons  of  his  own.'  " — "Well," 
said  I,  "I  believe  I  understand.  You  have  something  to  propose,  and 
you  wish  to  see  the  squire  or  the  doctor,  and  you're  to  be  found  where 
I  found  you.  Is  that  all?" — "And  when?  says  you,"  he  added. 
"Why  from  about  noon  observation  to  about  six  bells." — "Good," 
says  I,  "and  now  may  I  go?" — "You  won't  forget?"  he  inquired, 
anxiously.  "Well,  then,"  still  holding  me,  "I  reckon  you  can  go, 
Jim.  And,  Jim,  if  you  was  to  see  Silver,  you  wouldn't  go  for  to  sell 
Ben  Gunn?  And  if  them  pirates  came  ashore,  Jim,  what  would  you 
say  but  there'd  be  widders  in  the  morning?" 

Here  he  was  interrupted  by  a  loud  report,  and  a  cannon-ball  came 
tearing  through  the  trees  and  pitched  in  the  sand,  not  a  hundred  yards 
from  where  we  two  were  talking.  The  next  moment  each  of  us  had 
taken  to  our  heels  in  a  different  direction.  For  a  good  hour  balls  kept 
crashing  through  the  woods,  I  moved  from  hiding-place  to  hiding- 
place  ;  but  toward  the  end  of  the  bombardment,  I  had  begun  to  pluck 
up  my  heart  again;  and  after  a  long  detour  to  the  east,  crept  down 
among  the  shore-side  trees. 

The  sun  had  just  set,  the  sea  breeze  was  rustling  in  the  woods, 


86  TREASURE    ISLAND 

and  ruffling  the  gray  surface  of  the  anchorage ;  the  tide,  too,  was  far 
out;  the  air,  after  the  heat  of  the  day,  chilled  me  through  my  jacket. 
The  Hispaniola  still  lay  where  she  had  anchored;  hut,  sure  enough, 
there  was  the  Jolly  Roger — the  black  flag  of  piracy — flying  from  her 
peak.  I  lay  for  some  time,  watching  the  bustle  which  succeeded  the 
attack.  Men  were  demolishing  something  with  axes  on  the  beach 
near  the  stockade^the  poor  jolly-boat,  I  afterward  discovered.  Away, 
near  the  mouth  of  the  river,  a  great  fire  was  glowing  among  the  trees, 
and  between  that  point  and  the  ship  one  of  the  gigs  kept  coming  and 
going,  the  men  shouting  at  the  oars  like  children.  But  there  was  a 
sound  in  their  voices  which  suggested  rum. 

At  length  I  thought  I  might  return  toward  the  stockade.  As  I 
rose  to  my  feet,  I  saw,  some  distance  farther  down  the  spit,  and  rising 
from  the  low  bushes,  an  isolated  rock  pretty  high,  and  peculiarly  white 
in  color.  It  occurred  to  me  that  this  might  be  the  white  rock  of  which 
Ben  Gunn  had  spoken,  and  that  some  day  or  other  a  boat  might  be 
wanted,  and  I  should  know  where  to  look  for  one.  Then  I  skirted 
among  the  woods  until  I  had  regained  the  rear  of  the  stockade,  and 
was  soon  warmly  welcomed  by  the  faithful  party. 

I  had  soon  told  my  story,  and  began  to  look  about  me.  The  log- 
house  was  made  of  unsquared  trunks  of  pine — roof,  walls,  and  floor. 
There  was  a  porch  at  the  door,  and  under  this  porch  the  little  spring 
welled  up  into  an  artificial  basin — a  great  ship's  kettle  of  iron,  with 
the  bottom  knocked  out,  and  sunk  "to  her  bearings,"  as  the  captain 
said,  among  the  sand.  Little  had  been  left  beside  the  frame-work  of 
the  house,  but  in  one  corner  there  was  a  stone  slab  laid  down  by  way  of 
hearth,  and  an  old  rusty  iron  basket  to  contain  the  fire. 

The  slopes  of  the  knoll  and  all  the  inside  of  the  stockade  had 
been  cleared  of  timber  to  build  the  house,  and  most  of  the  soil  had 
been  washed  away  or  buried  in  drift  after  the  removal  of  the  trees; 
only  where  the  streamlet  ran  down  from  the  kettle  a  thick  bed  of  moss 
and  some  ferns  and  little  creeping  bushes  were  still  green  among  the 


.     TREASURE    ISLAND  87 

sand.  The  cold  evening  breeze  whistled  through  every  chink  of  the 
rude  building,  and  sprinkled  the  floor  with  a  continual  rain  of  fine 
sand.  There  was  sand  in  our  eyes,  sand  in  our  teeth,  sand  in  our 
suppers,  sand  dancing  in  the  spring  at  the  bottom  of  the  kettle,  for 
all  the  world  like  porridge  beginning  to  boil.  Our  chimney  was  a 
square  hole  in  the  roof;  it  was  but  a  little  part  of  the  smoke  that  found 
its  way  out,  and  the  rest  eddied  about  the  house,  and  kept  us  coughing 
and  piping  the  eye. 

If  we  had  been  allowed  to  sit  idle,  we  should  all  have  fallen  in 
the  blues,  but  Captain  Smollett  was  never  the  man  for  that.  All  hands 
were  called  up  before  him,  and  he  divided  us  into  watches.  The  doctor, 
and  Gray,  and  I,  for  one;  the  squire,  Hunter,  and  Joyce  upon  the 
other.  Tired  as  we  all  were,  two  were  sent  out  for  firewood,  two  more 
were  sent  to  dig  a  grave  for  Redruth,  the  doctor  was  named  cook,  I 
was  put  sentry  at  the  door,  and  the  captain  himself  went  from  one  to 
another,  keeping  up  our  spirits  and  lending  a  hand  wherever  it  was 
wanted.  From  time  to  time  the  doctor  came  to  the  door  for  a  little 
air  and  to  rest  his  eyes,  and  whenever  he  did  so,  he  had  a  word  for  me. 
"That  man  Smollett,"  he  said  once,  "is  a  better  man  than  I  am.  And 
when  I  say  that  it  means  a  deal,  Jim."  Another  time  he  came  and 
was  silent  for  a  while.  Then  he  put  his  head  on  one  side,  and  looked 
at  me.  "Is  this  Ben  Gunn  a  man?"  he  asked. — "I  do  not  know,  sir," 
said  I.  "I  am  not  very  sure  whether  he's  sane." — "If  there's  any 
doubt  about  the  matter,  he  is,"  returned  the  doctor.  "A  man  who 
has  been  three  years  biting  his  nails  on  a  desert  island,  Jim,  can't 
expect  to  appear  as  sane  as  you  or  me.  It  doesn't  lie  in  human 
nature.  Was  it  cheese  you  said  he  had  a  fancy  for?" — "Yes,  sir, 
cheese,"  I  answered. — "Well,  Jim,"  says  he,  "just  see  the  good  that 
comes  of  being  dainty  in  your  food.  You've  seen  my  snuff-box, 
haven't  you?  And  vou  never  saw  me  take  snuff:  the  reason  beine1 
that  in  my  snuff-box  I  carry  a  piece  of  Parmesan  cheese — a  cheese 
made  in  Italy,  very  nutritious.     Well,  that's  for  Ben  Gunn!" 


88  TREASURE    ISLAND     • 

Before  supper  was  eaten  we  buried  old  Tom  in  the  sand,  and 
stood  round  him  for  a  while  bareheaded  in  the  breeze.  Then,  when 
we  had  eaten  our  pork,  and  each  had  a  good  stiff  glass  of  brandy  grog, 
the  three  chiefs  got  together  in  a  corner  to  discuss  our  prospects.  It 
appears  they  were  at  their  wits'  end  what  to  do,  the  stores  being  so 
low  that  we  must  have  been  starved  into  surrender  long  before  help 
came.  But  our  best  hope,  it  was  decided,  was  to  kill  off  the  buc- 
caneers until  they  either  hauled  down  their  flag  or  ran  away  with  the 
Hispaniola.  From  nineteen  they  were  already  reduced  to  fifteen, 
two  others  were  wounded,  and  one,  at  least — the  man  shot  beside  the 
gun — severely  wounded,  if  he  were  not  dead.  Every  time  we  had  a 
crack  at  them,  we  were  to  take  it,  saving  our  own  lives,  with  the 
extremest  care.  And,  besides  that,  we  had  two  able  allies — rum  and 
the  climate. 

As  for  the  first,  though  we  were  about  half  a  mile  away,  we  could 
hear  them  roaring  and  singing  late  into  the  night;  and  as  for  the 
second,  the  doctor  staked  his  wig  that,  camped  where  they  were  in  the 
marsh,  and  unprovided  with  remedies,  the  half  of  them  would  be  on 
their  backs  before  a  week.  "So,"  he  added,  "if  we  are  not  all  shot 
down  first  they'll  be  glad  to  be  packing  in  the  schooner.  It's  always 
a  ship,  and  they  can  get  to  buccaneering  again,  I  suppose." — "First 
ship  that  I  ever  lost,"  said  Captain  Smollett. 

I  was  dead  tired,  as  you  may  fancy,  and  when  I  got  to  sleep, 
which  was  not  till  after  a  great  deal  of  tossing,  I  slept  like  a  log  of 
wood.  The  rest  had  long  been  up,  and  had  already  breakfasted  when 
I  was  awakened  by  a  bustle  and  the  sound  of  voices.  "Flag  of  truce !" 
I  heard  some  one  say,  and  then,  immediately  after,  with  a  cry  of  sur- 
prise, "Silver  himself!"  And,  at  that,  up  I  jumped,  and  rubbing  my 
eyes,  ran  to  a  loop-hole  in  the  wall. 


TREASURE    ISLAND  89 


CHAPTER    XX 

silver's  embassy 

Sure  enough,  there  were  two  men  just  outside  the  stockade,  one 
of  them  waving  a  white  cloth ;  the  other,  no  less  a  person  than  Silver 
himself,  standing  placidly  by. 

"Keep  indoors,  men,"  said  the  captain.  "Ten  to  one  this  is  a 
trick."  Then  he  hailed  the  buccaneer.  "Who  goes?  Stand,  or  we 
fire." — "Flag  of  truce!"  cried  Silver.  The  captain  was  in  the  porch, 
keeping  himself  carefully  out  of  the  way  of  a  treacherous  shot,  should 
any  be  intended.     He  turned  and  spoke  to  us. 

"Doctor's  watch  on  the  lookout.  Doctor  Livesey,  take  the  north 
side,  if  you  please;  Jim  the  east;  Gray,  west.  The  watch  below,  all 
hands  to  load  muskets.  Lively,  men,  and  careful."  And  then  he 
turned  again  to  the  mutineers.  "And  what  do  you  want  with  your 
flag  of  truce?"  he  cried. — This  time  it  was  the  other  man  who  replied. 
"Cap'n  Silver,  sir,  to  come  on  board  and  make  terms,"  he  shouted. — 
"Cap'n  Silver!  Don't  know  him.  Who's  he?"  cried  the  captain. 
And  we  could  hear  him  adding  to  himself:  "Cap'n,  is  it?  Isly  heart, 
and  here's  promotion!" 

Long  John  answered  for  himself.  "Me,  sir.  These  poor  lads 
have  chosen  me  cap'n,  after  your  desertion,  sir" — laying  a  particular 
emphasis  upon  the  word  "desertion."  "We're  willing  to  submit,  if 
we  can  come  to  terms,  and  no  bones  about  it.  All  I  ask  is  your  word, 
Cap'n  Smollett,  to  let  me  safe  and  sound  out  of  this  here  stockade,  and 
one  minute  to  get  out  o'  shot  before  a  gun  is  fired." — "My  man,"  said 
Captain  Smollett,  "I  have  not  the  slightest  desire  to  talk  to  you.  If 
you  wish  to  talk  to  me,  you  can  come,  that's  all.  If  there's  any 
treachery,  it'll  be  on  your  side,  and  the  Lord  help  you." — "That's 
enough,  cap'n,"  shouted  Long  John,  cheerily.     "A  word  from  you's 


9U  TREASURE    ISLAND 

enough.  I  know  a  gentleman,  and  you  may  lay  to  that."  Then  he 
advanced  to  the  stockade,  threw  over  his  crutch,  got  a  leg  up,  and  with 
great  vigor  and  skill  succeeded  in  surmounting  the  fence  and  drop- 
ping safely  to  the  other  side. 

Silver  had  terrible  hard  work  getting  up  the  knoll.  What  with 
the  steepness  of  the  incline,  the  thick  tree-stumps,  and  the  soft  sand, 
he  and  his  crutch  were  as  helpless  as  a  ship  in  stays.  But  lie  stuck  to 
it  like  a  man  in  silence,  and  at  last  arrived  before  the  captain,  whom  he 
saluted  in  the  handsomest  style.  "Here  you  are,  my  man,"  said  the 
captain,  raising  his  head.  "You  had  better  sit  down." — "You  ain't 
a-going  to  let  me  inside,  cap'n?"  complained  'Long  John.  "It's  a 
main  cold  morning,  to  be  sure,  to  sit  outside  upon  the  sand." — "Why, 
Silver,"  said  the  captain,  "if  you  had  pleased  to  be  an  honest  man  you 
might  have  been  sitting  in  your  galley.  It's  your  own  doing.  You're 
either  my  ship's  cook — and  then  you  were  treated  handsome — or  Cap'n 
Silver,  a  common  mutineer  and  pirate,  and  then  you  can  go  hang!" 

"Well,  well,  cap'n,"  returned  the  sea-cook,  sitting  down  as  he  was 
bidden  on  the  sand,  "you'll  have  to  give  me  a  hand  up  again,  that's  all. 
A  sweet,  pretty  place  you  have  of  it  here.  All,  there's  Jim!  The 
top  of  the  morning  to  you,  Jim.  Doctor,  here's  my  service.  Why, 
there  you  all  are  together  like  a  happy  family,  in  a  manner  of  speak- 
ing."— "If  you  have  anything  to  say,  my  man,  better  say  it,"  said  the 
captain. — "Right  you  are,  Cap'n  Smollett,"  replied  Silver.  "Dooty 
is  dooty,  to  be  sure.  Well,  now,  you  look  here,  that  was  a  good  lay 
of  yours  last  night.  I  don't  deny  it  was  a  good  lay.  Some  of  you 
pretty  handy  with  a  handspike-end.  And  I'll  not  deny  neither  but 
what  some  of  my  people  was  shook.  But  you  mark  me,  cap'n,  it  won't 
do  twice,  by  thunder!  We'll  have  to  do  sentry  go,  and  ease  off  a 
point  or  so  on  the  rum.  But  I'll  tell  you  I  was  sober;  I  was  on'y 
dog  tired;  and  if  I'd  awoke  a  second  sooner  I'd  a-caught  you  at  the 
act,  I  would.  He  wasn't  dead  when  I  got  round  to  him,  not  he." — 
"Well?"  says  Captain  Smollett,  as  cool  as  can  be. 


TREASURE    ISLAND 


91 


Page  UK 


92  TREASURE    ISLAND 

All  that  Silver  said  was  a  riddle  to  him,  but  you  would  never  have 
guessed  it  from*  his  tone.  As  for  me,  I  began  to  have  an  inkling. 
Ben  Gunn's  last  words  came  back  to  my  mind.  I  began  to  suppose 
that  he  had  paid  the  buccaneers  a  visit  while  they  all  lay  drunk  together 
round  their  fire,  and  I  reckoned  up  with  glee  that  we  had  only  four- 
teen enemies  to  deal  with. 

"Well,  here  it  is,"  said  Silver.  "We  want  that  treasure,  and 
we'll  have  it — that's  our  point!  You  would  just  as  soon  save  your 
lives,  I  reckon;  and  that's  yours.  You  have  a  chart,  haven't  you?" — 
"That's  as  may  be,"  replied  the  captain. — "Oh,  well,  you  have,  I  know 
that,"  returned  Long  John.  "You  needn't  be  so  husky  with  a  man; 
there  ain't  a  particle  of  service  in  that,  and  you  may  lay  to  it.  What  I 
mean  is,  we  want  your  chart.  Now,  I  never  meant  you  no  harm, 
myself." — "That  won't  do  with  me,  my  man,"  interrupted  the  captain. 
"We  know  exactly  what  you  meant  to  do,  and  we  don't  care;  for  now, 
you  see,  you  can't  do  it."  And  the  captain  looked  at  him  calmly,  and 
proceeded  to  fill  a  pipe. 

"If  Abe  Gray "   Silver  broke  out. — "Avast    there!"    cried 

Smollett.  "Gray  told  me  nothing,  and  I  asked  him  nothing;  and 
what's  more,  I  would  see  you  and  him  and  this  whole  island  blown 
clean  out  of  the  water  into  blazes  first.  So  there's  my  mind  for  you, 
my  man,  on  that."  This  little  whiff  of  temper  seemed  to  cool  Silver 
down. — "Like  enough,"  said  he.  "I  would  set  no  limits  to  what  gen- 
tlemen might  consider  ship-shape,  or  might  not,  as  the  case  were. 
And,  seein'  as  how  you  are  about  to  take  a  pipe,  cap'n,  I'll  make  so 
free  as  to  do  likewise."  And  he  filled  a  pipe  and  lighted  it;  and  the 
two  men  sat  silently  smoking  for  quite  a  while,  now  looking  each  other 
in  the  face,  now  stopping  their  tobacco,  now  leaning  forward  to  spit. 
It  was  as  good  as  the  play  to  see  them. 

"Now,"  resumed  Silver,  "here  it  is.  You  give  us  the  chart  to  get 
the  treasure  by,  and  drop  shooting  poor  seamen,  and  stoving  of  their 
heads  in  while  asleep,  and  we'll  offer  you  a  choice.     Either  you  come 


TREASURE    ISLAND  93 

aboard  along  of  us,  once  the  treasure  shipped,  and  then  I'll  give  you 
my  affy-davy,  upon  my  word  of  honor,  to  clap  you  somewhere  safe 
ashore.  Or,  if  that  ain't  to  your  fancy,  then  you  can  stay  here,  you 
can.  We'll  divide  stores  with  you,  man  for  man;  and  I'll  give  my 
affy-davy,  as  before,  to  speak  the  first  ship  I  sight  and  send  'em  here 
to  pick  you  up.  Now  you'll  own  that's  talking.  And  I  hope" — 
raising  his  voice — "that  all  hands  in  this  here  block-house  will  overhaul 
my  words,  for  what  is  spoke  to  one  is  spoke  to  all." 

Captain  Smollett  rose  from  his  seat  and  knocked  out  the  ashes 
of  his  pipe  in  the  palm  of  his  left  hand.  "Is  that  all?"  he  asked.— 
"Every  last  word,  by  thunder!"  answered  John.  "Refuse  that  and 
you've  seen  the  last  of  me  but  musket-balls." — "Very  good,"  said  the 
captain.  "Now  you'll  hear  me.  If  you'll  come  up  one  by  one,  un- 
armed, I'll  engage  to  clap  3^ou  all  in  irons,  and  to  take  you  home  to  a 
fair  trial  in  England.  If  you  won't,  my  name  is  Alexander  Smollett, 
I've  flown  my  sovereign's  colors,  and  I'll  see  you  all  to  Davy  Jones. 
You  can't  find  the  treasure.  You  can't  sail  the  ship.  You  can't  fight 
us — Gray,  there,  got  away  from  five  of  you.  Your  ship's  in  irons, 
Master  Silver;  you're  on  a  lee-shore,  and  so  you'll  find.  I  stand  here 
and  tell  you  so,  and  they're  the  last  good  words  you'll  get  from  me; 
I'll  put  a  bullet  in  your  back  when  next  I  meet  you.  Tramp,  my  lad. 
Bundle  out  of  this,  double  quick." 

Silver's  face  was  a  picture;  his  eyes  started  in  his  head  with  wrath. 
He  shook  the  fire  out  of  his  pipe.  "Give  me  a  hand  up!"  he  cried. — 
"Not  I,"  returned  the  captain. — "Who'll  give  me  a  hand  up?"  he 
roared.  Not  a  man  among  us  moved.  Growling  the  foulest  impre- 
cations, he  crawled  along  the  sand  till  he  got  hold  of  the  porch  and 
could  hoist  himself  again  upon  his  crutch.  And  he  stumbled  off, 
plowed  down  the  sand,  was  helped  across  the  stockade  by  the  man  with 
a  flag  of  truce,  and  disappeared  in  an  instant  afterward  among  the 
trees. 


94  TREASURE    ISLAND 


CHAPTER    XXI 

THE    ATTACK 

As  soon  as  Silver  disappeared,  the  captain,  who  had  been  closely 
watching  him,  turned  toward  the  interior  of  the  house,  and  found  not 
a  man  of  us  at  his  post  but  Gray.  It  was  the  first  time  we  had  ever 
seen  him  angry.  "Quarters!"  he  roared.  And  then,  as  we  all  slunk 
back  to  our  places,  "Gray,"  he  said,  "I'll  put  your  name  in  the  log; 
you've  stood  by  your  duty  like  a  seaman.  Mr.  Trelawney,  I'm  sur- 
prised at  you,  sir.  Doctor,  I  thought  you  had  worn  the  king's  coat!" 
The  doctor's  watch  were  all  back  at  their  loop-holes,  the  rest  were  busy 
loading  the  spare  muskets,  and  every  one  with  a  red  face. 

The  captain  looked  on  for  a  while  in  silence.  Then  he  spoke. 
"My  lads,"  he  said,  "I've  given  Silver  a  broadside.  I  pitched  it  in 
red-hot  on  purpose;  and  before  the  hour's  out,  as  he  said,  Ave  shall  be 
boarded.  We're  outnumbered,  I  needn't  tell  you  that,  but  we  fight 
in  shelter;  and,  a  minute  ago,  I  should  have  said  we  fought  with  dis- 
cipline. I've  no  manner  of  doubt  that  we  can  drub  them,  if  you 
choose."  Then  he  went  the  rounds,  and  saw,  as  he  said,  that  all  was 
clear. 

On  the  two  short  sides  of  the  house,  east  and  west,  there  were 
only  two  loop-holes ;  on  the  south  side  where  the  porch  was,  two  again ; 
and  on  the  north  side,  five.  There  was  a  round  score  of  muskets  for 
the  seven  of  us;  the  firewood  had  been  built  into  four  piles — tables, 
you  might  say — one  about  the  middle  of  each  side,  and  on  each  of  these 
tables  some  ammunition  and  four  loaded  muskets  were  laid  ready  to 
the  hand  of  the  defenders.     In  the  middle,  the  cutlasses  lay  ranged. 

"Toss  out  the  fire,"  said  the  captain;  "the  chill  is  past,  and  we 
mustn't  have  smoke  in  our  eyes."  The  iron  fire-basket  was  carried 
bodily  out  by  Trelawney,  and  th.2  embers  smothered  among  sand. 


TREASURE    ISLAND  95 

"Hawkins  hasn't  had  his  breakfast.  Hawkins,  help  yourself,  and 
back  to  your  post  to  eat  it,"  continued  Captain  Smollett.  "Hunter, 
serve  out  a  round  of  brandy  to  all  hands."  And  while  this  was  going 
on,  the  captain  completed,  in  his  own  mind,  the  plan  of  the  defense. 
"Doctor,  you  will  take  the  door,"  he  resumed.  "See  and  don't  expose 
yourself;  keep  within,  and  fire  through  the  porch.  Hunter,  take  the 
east  side,  there.  Joyce,  you  stand  by  the  west,  my  man.  Mr.  Tre- 
lawney,  you  are  the  best  shot — you  and  Gray  will  take  this  long  north 
side,  with  the  five  loop-holes;  it's  there  the  danger  is.  If  they  can  get 
up  to  it,  and  fire  in  upon  us  through  our  own  ports,  things  would  begin 
to  look  dirty.  Hawkins,  neither  you  nor  I  are  much  account  at  the 
shooting;  we'll  stand  by  to  load  and  bear  a  hand." 

An  hour  passed  away.  "Hang  them!"  said  the  captain.  "This 
is  as  dull  as  the  doldrums.     Gray,  whistle  for  a  wind." 

Some  seconds  passed,  till  suddenly  Joyce  whipped  up  his  musket 
and  fired.  The  report  had  scarcely  died  away  ere  it  was  repeated 
and  repeated  from  without  in  a  scattering  volley,  shot  behind  shot  from 
every  side  of  the  inclosure.  Several  bullets  struck  the  log-house,  but 
not  one  entered ;  and,  as  the  smoke  cleared  away,  the  woods  looked  as 
empty  as  before. 

"Did  you  hit  your  man?"  asked  the  captain. — "No,  sir,"  replied 
Joyce.  "I  believe  not,  sir." — "Next  best  thing  to  tell  the  truth," 
muttered  Smollett.  "Load  his  gun,  Hawkins.  How  many  should 
you  say  there  were  on  your  side,  doctor?" — "I  know  precisely,"  said 
Doctor  Livesey.  "Three  shots  were  fired  on  this  side.  Two  close 
together — one  farther  to  the  west." — "Three!"  repeated  the  captain. 
"And  how  many  on  yours,  Mr.  Trelawney?"  But  this  was  not  so 
easily  answered.  There  had  come  many  from  the  north — seven,  by 
the  squire's  computation ;  eight  or  nine,  according  to  Gray.  From  the 
east  and  west  only  a  single  shot  had  been  fired.  It  was  plain,  there- 
fore, that  the  attack  would  be  developed  from  the  north,  and  that  on 
the  other  three  sides  we  were  only  to  be  annoyed  by  a  show  of  hostili- 


96  TREASURE    ISLAND 

ties.  But  Smollet  made  no  change  in  his  arrangements.  If  the 
mutineers  succeeded  in  crossing  the  stockade,  he  argued,  they  would 
take  possession  of  any  unprotected  loop-hole,  and  shoot  us  down  like 
rats  in  our  own  stronghold. 

Nor  had  we  much  time  left  to  us  for  thought.  Suddenly,  with  a 
loud  huzza,  a  little  cloud  of  pirates  leaped  from  the  woods  on  the  north 
side,  and  ran  straight  on  the  stockade.  The  hoarders  swarmed  over 
the  fence  like  monkeys.  Squire  and  Gray  fired  again  and  yet  again; 
three  men  fell,  one  forward  into  the  inclosure,  two  back  on  the  outside. 
But  of  these,  one  was  evidently  more  frightened  than  hurt,  for  he  was 
on  his  feet  again  in  a  crack,  and  disappeared  among  the  trees.  Two 
had  bit  the  dust,  one  had  fled,  four  had  made  good  their  footing  inside 
our  defenses;  while  from  the  shelter  of  the  woods  seven  or  eight  men, 
each  evidently  supplied  with  several  muskets,  kept  up  a  hot  fire  on  the 
log-house. 

The  four  who  had  boarded  made  straight  before  them  for  the 
building.  In  a  moment  the  four  pirates  had  swarmed  up  the  mound 
and  were  upon  us.  The  head  of  Job  Anderson,  the  boatswain,  ap- 
peared at  the  middle  loop-hole.  "At  'em,  all  hands — all  hands!"  he 
roared,  in  a  voice  of  thunder.  At  the  same  moment  another  pirate 
grasped  Hunter's  musket  by  the  muzzle,  wrenched  it  from  his  hands, 
plucked  it  through  the  loop-hole,  and,  with  one  stunning  blow,  laid  the 
poor  fellow  senseless  on  the  floor.  Meanwhile  a  third,  running  un- 
harmed all  round  the  house,  appeared  suddenly  in  the  doorway,  and 
fell  with  his  cutlass  on  the  doctor. 

The  log-house  was  full  of  smoke,  to  which  we  owed  our  com- 
parative safety.  "Out,  lads,  out!  and  fight  'em  in  the  open!  Cut- 
lasses!" cried  the  captain.  I  snatched  a  cutlass  from  the  pile,  and 
dashed  out  of  the  door.  Right  in  front,  the  doctor  was  pursuing  his 
assailant  down  the  hill,  and,  just  as  my  eyes  fell  upon  him,  beat  down 
his  guard,  and  sent  him  sprawling  on  his  back,  with  a  great  slash  across 
his  face.     "Round  the  house,  lads!  round  the  house!"  cried  the  captain, 


TREASURE    ISLAND  97 

and  even  in  the  hurly-burly  1  perceived  a  change  in  his  voice.  Me- 
chanically I  obeyed,  turned  eastward,  and,  with  my  cutlass  raised,  ran 
round  the  corner  of  the  house.  Next  moment  I  was  face  to  face  with 
Anderson.  His  hanger  went  up  above  his  head,  flashing  in  the  sun- 
light. I  had  not  time  to  be  afraid,  but,  as  the  blow  still  hung  impend- 
ing, leaped  in  a  trice  upon  one  side,  and  missing  my  foot  in  the  soft 
sand,  rolled  headlong  down  the  slope. 

When  I  had  first  sallied  from  the  door,  the  other  mutineers  had 
been  already  swarming  up  the  palisade  to  make  an  end  of  us.  One 
man,  in  a  red  night-cap,  with  his  cutlass  in  his  mouth,  had  even  got  upon 
the  top  and  thrown  a  leg  across.  Well,  so  short  had  been  the  interval, 
that  when  I  found  my  feet  again  all  was  in  the  same  posture,  the  fellow 
with  the  red  night-cap  still  halfway  over,  another  still  just  showing  his 
head  above  the  top  of  the  stockade.  And  yet,  in  this  breath  of  time, 
the  fight  was  over,  and  the  victory  ours.  Gray,  following  close  behind 
us,  had  cut  down  the  big  boatswain  ere  he  had  time  to  recover  from 
his  lost  blow.  Another  had  been  shot  at  a  loop-hole  in  the  very  act 
of  firing  into  the  house.  A  third,  as  I  had  seen,  the  doctor  had  dis- 
posed of  at  a  blow.  Of  the  four  who  had  scaled  the  palisade,  .one  only 
remained  unaccounted  for,  and  he,  having  left  his  cutlass  on  the  field, 
was  now  clambering  out  again  with  the  fear  of  death  upon  him. 

"Fire — fire  from  the  house!"  cried  the  doctor.  'And  you,  lads, 
back  into  cover."  But  his  words  were  unheeded,  no  shot  was  fired, 
and  the  last  boarder  made  good  his  escape.  In  three  seconds  nothing 
remained  of  the  attacking  party  but  the  five  who  had  fallen,  four  on 
the  inside  and  one  on  the  outside  of  the  palisade.  The  doctor  and 
Gray  and  I  ran  full  speed  for  shelter. 

The  house  was  by  this  time  somewhat  cleared  of  smoke,  and  we 
saw  at  a  glance  the  price  we  had  paid  for  victory.  Hunter  lay  beside 
his  loop-hole,  stunned;  Joyce,  by  his,  shot  through  the  head,  never  to 
move  again,  while  right  in  the  center  the  squire  was  supporting  the 
captain,  one  as  pale  as  the  other.     "The  captain's  wounded,"  said 


98  TREASURE    ISLAND 

Trelawney. — "Have  they  run?"  asked  Smollett. — "All  that  could, 
you  may  be  bound,"  returned  the  doctor;  "but  there's  five  of  them  will 
never  run  again." — "Five!"  cried  the  captain.  "Come,  that's  better. 
Five  against  three  leaves  us  four  to  nine.  That's  better  odds  than  we 
had  at  starting.  We  were  seven  to  nineteen  then,  or  thought  we  were, 
and  that's  as  bad  to  bear," 


CHAPTER    XXII 

HOW    I    BEGAN    MY    SEA   ADVENTURE 

There  was  no  return  of  the  mutineers — not  so  much  as  another 
shot  out  of  the  woods.  They  had  "got  their  rations  for  that  day,"  as 
the  captain  put  it,  and  we  had  the  place  to  ourselves  and  a  quiet  time 
to  overhaul  the  wounded  and  get  dinner.  Squire  and  I  cooked  out- 
side, in  spite  of  the  danger,  and  even  outside  we  could  hardly  tell  what 
we  were  at,  for  the  groans  that  reached  us  from  the  doctor's  patients. 

Out  of  the  eight  men  who  had  fallen  in  the  action  only  three  still 
breathed,  and  of  these,  two  were  as  good  as  dead ;  the  mutineer,  indeed, 
died  under  the  doctor's  knife,  and  Hunter  never  recovered  conscious- 
ness in  this  world.  As  for  the  captain,  his  wounds  were  grievous 
indeed,  but  not  dangerous.  Anderson's  ball  had  broken  his  shoulder- 
blade  and  touched  the  lung,  not  badly;  the  second  had  only  torn  and 
displaced  some  muscles  in  the  calf.  He  was  sure  to  recover,  the  doctor 
said,  but  in  the  meantime,  and  for  weeks  to  come,  he  must  not  walk  or 
move  his  arm,  nor  so  much  as  speak  when  he  could  help  it. 

After  dinner  the  squire  and  the  doctor  sat  by  the  captain's  side 
while  in  consultation;  and  when  they  had  talked  to  their  hearts'  con- 
tent, the  doctor  took  up  his  hat  and  pistols,  girt  on  a  cutlass,  put  the 
chart  in  his  pocket,  and  with  a  musket  over  his  shoulder,  crossed  the 
palisade  on  the  north  side  and  set  off  briskly  through  the  trees.  Gray 
and  I  were  sitting  together  at  the  far  end  of  the  block-house,  and 


TREASURE    ISLAND  99 

Gray  took  his  pipe  out  of  his  mouth  and  fairly  forgot  to  put  it  hack 
again,  .so  thunderstruck  he  was  at  this  occurrence.  "Why,  in  the  name 
of  Davy  Jones,"  said  he,  "is  Doctor  Livesey  mad?" — "Why,  no," 
says  I.  "He's  about  the  last  of  this  crew  for  that,  I  take  it." — "Well, 
shipmate,"  said  Gray,  "mad  he  may  not  be,  but  if  he's  not,  mark  my 
words,  I  am." — "I  take  it,"  replied  I,  "the  doctor  has  his  idea,  and  if 
I  am  right,  he's  going  now  to  see  Ben  Gunn." 

I  was  right;  but  in  the  meantime,  the  house  being  stifling  hot, 
and  the  little  patch  of  sand  inside  the  palisade  ablaze  with  midday 
sun,  I  began  to  get  another  thought  into  my  head.  What  I  began  to 
do  was  to  envy  the  doctor,  walking  in  the  cool  shadow  of  the  woods, 
with  the  birds  about  him  and  the  pleasant  smell  of  the  pines.  All  the 
time  I  was  washing  out  the  block-house,  and  then  washing  up  the 
things  from  dinner,  this  envy  kept  growing  stronger,  till  at  last,  being 
near  a  bread-bag,  and  no  one  then  observing  me,  I  took  the  first  step 
toward  my  escapade  and  filled  both  pockets  of  my  coat  with  biscuit. 
The  next  thing  I  laid  hold  of  was  a  brace  of  pistols,  and  as  I  already 
had  a  powder-horn  and  bullets,  I  felt  myself  well  supplied  with  arms. 

As  for  the  scheme  I  had  in  my  head,  it  was  not  a  bad  one  in  itself. 
It  was  to  go  down  the  sandy  pit  that  divides  the  anchorage  on  the 
east  from  the  open  sea,  find  the  white  rock  I  had  observed  last  even- 
ing, and  ascertain  whether  it  was  there  or  not  that  Ben  Gunn  had 
hidden  his  boat — a  thing  quite  worth  doing,  as  I  still  believe.  But 
as  I  was  certain  I  should  not  be  allowed  to  leave  the  inclosure,  my  only 
plan  was  to  take  French  leave  and  slip  out  when  nobody  was  watching. 

Well,  as  things  at  last  fell  out,  I  found  an  opportunity.  The 
squire  and  Gray  were  busy  helping  the  captain  with  his  bandages ;  the 
coast  was  clear;  I  made  a  bolt  for  it  over  the  stockade  and  into  the 
thickest  of  the  trees,  and  before  my  absence  was  observed  I  was  out 
of  cry  of  companions.  This  was  my  second  folly,  far  worse  than  the 
first,  as  I  left  but  two  sound  men  to  guard  the  house;  but,  like  the 
first,  it  was  a  help  toward  saving  all  of  us. 


,00  TREASURE    ISLAND 

I  took  my  way  straight  for  the  east  coast  of  the  island,  to  avoid 
all  chance  of  observation  from  the  anchorage.  Soon  cool  draughts 
of  air  began  to  reach  me,  and  a  few  steps  farther  I  came  forth  into 
the  open  borders  of  the  grove  and  saw  the  sea  lying  blue  and  sunn3r 
to  the  horizon  and  the  surf  tumbling  and  tossing  its  foam  along  the 
beach.  I  walked  along  beside  the  surf  with  great  enjoyment,  till, 
thinking  I  was  now  got  far  enough  to  the  south,  I  took  the  cover  of 
some  thick  bushes  and  crept  warily  up  to  the  ridge  of  the  spit. 

Behind  me  was  the  sea,  in  front  the  anchorage.  The  sea  breeze 
had  been  succeeded  by  light,  variable  airs  from  the  south  and  south- 
east, carrying  great  banks  of  fog;  and  the  anchorage,  under  lee  of 
Skeleton  Island,  lay  still  and  leaden.  The  Hispaniola,  in  that  un- 
broken mirror,  was  exactly  portrayed  from  the  truck  to  the  water-line, 
the  Jolly  Roger  hanging  from  her  peak.  Alongside  lay  one  of  the 
gigs,  Silver  in  the  stern-sheets — him  I  could  always  recognize — while 
a  couple  of  men  were  leaning  over  the  stern  bulwarks,  one  of  them 
with  a  red  cap — the  very  rogue  that  I  had  seen  some  hours  before 
stride-legs  upon  the  palisade.  Soon  the  gig  shoved  off  and  pulled 
for  shore,  and  the  man  with  the  red  cap  and  his  comrade  went  below. 

Just  about  the  same  time  the  sun  had  gone  down  behind  the  Spy- 
glass, and  as  the  fog  was  collecting  rapidly,  it  began  to  grow  dark  in 
earnest.  I  saw  I  must  lose  no  time  if  I  were  to  find  the  boat  that 
evening.  The  white  rock,  visible  enough  above  the  brush,  was  still 
some  eighth  of  a  mile  farther  down  the  spit,  and  it  took  me  a  goodish 
while  to  get  up  with  it,  crawling,  often  on  all  fours,  among  the  scrub. 
Night  had  almost  come  when  I  laid  my  hand  on  its  rough  sides. 
Right  below  it  there  was  an  exceedingly  small  hollow  of  green  turf, 
hidden  by  banks  and  a  thick  underwood ;  and  in  the  center  of  the  dell, 
sure  enough,  a  little  tent  of  goat-skins.  I  dropped  into  the  hollow, 
lifted  the  side  of  the  tent,  and  there  was  Ben  Gunn's  boat — home- 
made if  ever  anything  was  home-made — a  rude,  lop-sided  framework 
of  tough  wood,  and  stretched  upon  that  a  covering  of  goat-skin,  with 


TREASURE    ISLAND 


101 


r  .„'•*?■;:".-" — : t; 


■ 


"The  CoxfWAihf  loojed  tfif  o^p  upo/i 
3|£  Sm^udj,Md  plunged  Head  F/tfr  Mm  the  tme% > 


Page  118 


102  TREASURE    ISLAND 

the  hair  inside.  The  thing  was  extremely  small,  even  for  me,  and  I 
can  hardly  imagine  that  it  could  have  floated  with  a  full-sized  man. 
There  was  one  thwart  set  as  low  as  possible,  a  kind  of  stretcher  in  the 
bows,  and  a  double  paddle  for  propulsion. 

Well,  now  that  I  had  found  the  boat,  or  coracle,  I  might  call  it, 
you  would  have  thought  I  had  had  enough  of  truantry  for  once;  but 
in  the  meantime  I  had  taken  another  notion,  and  become  so  obstinately 
fond  of  it  that  I  would  have  carried  it  out,  I  believe,  in  the  teeth  of 
Captain  Smollett  himself.  This  was  to  slip  out  under  cover  of  the 
night,  cut  the  Hispaniola  adrift,  and  let  her  go  ashore  where  she 
fancied.  I  had  quite  made  up  my  mind  that  the  mutineers,  after 
their  repulse  of  the  morning,  had  nothing  nearer  their  hearts  than  to 
up  anchor  and  away  to  sea ;  this,  I  thought,  it  would  be  a  fine  thing  to 
prevent,  and  now  that  I  had  seen  how  they  left  their  watchman  un- 
provided with  a  boat,  I  thought  it  might  be  done  with  little  risk.  It 
was  a  night  out  of  ten  thousand  for  my  purpose.  The  fog  had  now 
buried  all  heaven.  As  the  last  rays  of  daylight  dwindled  and  disap- 
peared, absolute  blackness  settled  down  on  Treasure  Island.  And 
when,  at  last,  I  shouldered  the  coracle,  and  groped  my  way  stum- 
blingly  out  of  the  hollow,  there  were  but  two  points  visible  on  the  whole 
anchorage. 

One  was  the  great  fire  on  shore,  by  which  the  defeated  pirates  lay 
carousing  in  the  swamp.  The  other,  a  mere  blur  of  light  upon  the 
darkness,  indicated  by  the  position  of  the  anchored  ship. 


TREASURE    ISLAND  103 


CHAPTER    XXIII 

THE   EBB-TIDE   RUNS 

The  coracle — as  I  had  ample  reason  to  know  before  I  was  done 
with  her — was  a  very  safe  boat  for  a  person  of  my  height  and  weight, 
but  she  was  the  most  cross-grained,  lop-sided  craft  to  manage.  Even 
Ben  Gunn  himself  has  admitted  that  she  was  "queer  to  handle  till  you 
knew  her  way."  Certainly  I  did  not  know  her  way-  She  turned  in 
every  direction  but  the  one  I  was  bound  to  go;  the  most  part  of  the 
time  we  were  broadside  on,  and  I  am  very  sure  I  never  should  have 
made  the  ship  at  all  but  for  the  tide.  By  good  fortune,  paddle  as  I 
pleased,  the  tide  was  still  sweeping  me  down;  and  there  lay  the  His- 
paniola  right  in  the  fair  way,  hardly  to  be  missed.  First  she  loomed 
before  me  like  a  blot  of  something  yet  blacker  than  darkness,  then  her 
spars  and  hull  began  to  take  shape,  and  the  next  moment,  as  it  seemed, 
I  was  alongside  of  her  hawser,  and  had  laid  hold.  The  hawser  was  as 
taut  as  a  bowstring — so  strong  she  pulled  upon  her  anchor.  One  cut 
with  my  sea  gully,  and  the  Hispaniola  would  go  humming  down  the 
tide. 

So  far  so  good;  but  it  next  occurred  to  my  recollection  that  a  taut 
hawser,  suddenly  cut,  is  a  thing  as  dangerous  as  a  kicking  horse.  This 
brought  me  to  a  full  stop,  and  if  fortune  had  not  again  particularly 
favored  me,  I  should  have  had  to  abandon  my  design.  But  the  light 
air  which  had  begun  blowing  from  the  southeast  and  south  had  hauled 
round  after  nightfall  into  the  southwest.  Just  while  I  was  medi- 
tating, a  puff  came,  caught  the  Hispaniola,  and  forced  her  up  into 
the  current;  and,  to  my  great  joy,  I  felt  the  hawser  slacken  in  my 
grasp,  and  the  hand  by  which  I  held  it  dip  for  a  second  under  water. 
With  that  I  made  my  mind  up,  took  out  my  gully,  opened  it  with  my 
teeth,  and  cut  one  strand  after  another,  till  the  vessel  swung  by  two. 


104  •  TREASURE    ISLAND 

Then  I  lay  quiet,  waiting  to  sever  these  last  when  the  strain  should  be 
once  more  lightened  by  a  breath  of  wind. 

All  this  time  I  had  heard  the  sound  of  loud  voices  from  the  cabin. 
One  I  recognized  for  the  cockswain's,  Israel  Hands,  that  had  been 
Flint's  gunner  in  former  days.  The  other  was,  of  course,  my  friend 
of  the  red  night-cap.  Both  men  were  plainly  the  worse  of  drink,  and 
they  were  still  drinking;  for,  even  while  I  was  listening,  one  of  them, 
with  a  drunken  cry,  opened  the  stern  window  and  threw  out  some- 
thing, which  I  divined  to  be  an  empty  bottle. 

On  shore,  I  could  see  the  glow  of  the  great  camp-fire  burning 
warmly  through  the  shore-side  trees.  Some  one  was  singing  a  dull, 
old,  droning  sailors'  song,  with  a  droop  and  quaver  at  the  end  of  every 
verse,  and  seemingly  no  end  to  it  at  all  but  the  patience  of  the  singer. 

At  last  the  breeze  came ;  the  schooner  sidled  and  drew  nearer  in  the 
dark;  I  felt  the  hawser  slacken  once  more,  and  with  a  good,  tough 
effort  cut  the  last  fibers  through.  The  breeze  had  but  little  action  on 
the  coracle,  and  I  was  almost  instantly  swept  against  the  bows  of  the 
Hispaniola.  At  the  same  time  the  schooner  began  to  turn  upon  her 
heel,  spinning  slowly,  end  for  end,  across  the  current.  I  wrought  like 
a  fiend,  for  I  expected  every  moment  to  be  swamped;  and  since  I 
found  I  could  not  push  the  coracle  directly  off,  I  now  shoved  straight 
astern.  At  length  I  was  clear  of  my  dangerous  neighbor,  and  just 
as  I  gave  the  last  impulsion,  my  hands  came  across  a  light  cord  that 
was  trailing  overboard  across  the  stern  bulwarks.  Instantly  I 
grasped  it. 

Why  I  should  have  done  so  I  can  hardly  say.  It  was  at  first 
mere  instinct,  but  once  I  had  it  in  my  hands  and  found  it  fast,  curiosity 
began  to  get  the  upper  hand,  and  I  determined  I  should  have  one 
look  through  the  cabin  Avindow.  I  pulled  in  hand  over  hand  on  the 
cord,  and,  when  I  judged  myself  near  enough,  rose  at  infinite  risk  to 
about  half  my  height,  and  thus  commanded  the  roof  and  a  slice  of  the 
interior  of  the  cabin.     By  this  time  the  schooner  and  her  little  consort 


TREASURE    ISLAND  105 

were  gliding  pretty  swiftly  through  the  water;  indeed,  we  had  already 
fetched  up  level  with  the  camp-fire.  The  ship  was  talking,  as  sailors 
say,  loudly,  treading  the  innumerable  ripples  with  an  incessant  welter- 
ing splash;  and  until  I  got  my  eye  above  the  window-sill  I  could  not 
comprehend  why  the  watchmen  had  taken  no  alarm.  One  glance, 
however,  was  sufficient;  and  it  was  only  one  glance  that  I  dared  take 
from  that  unsteady  skiff.  It  showed  me  Hands  and  his  companion 
locked  together  in  deadly  wrestle,  each  with  a  hand  upon  the  other's 
throat.  I  dropped  upon  the  thwart  again,  none  too  soon,  for  I  was 
near  overboard. 

The  endless  ballad  had  come  to  an  end  at  last,  and  the  whole 
diminished  company  about  the  camp-fire  had  broken  into  the  chorus 
I  had  heard  so  often : 

"Fifteen  men  on  the  dead  man's  chest — " 

I  was  just  thinking  how  busy  drink  and  the  devil  were  at  that  very 
moment  in  the  cabin  of  the  Hispaniola,  when  I  was  surprised  by  a 
sudden  lurch  of  the  coracle.  At  the  same  moment  she  yawed  sharply 
and  seemed  to  change  her  course.  The  speed  in  the  meantime  had 
strangely  increased.  I  opened  my  eyes  at  once.  The  Hispaniola  her- 
self seemed  to  stagger  in  her  course,  and  I  saw  her  spars  toss  a  little 
against  the  blackness  of  the  night;  nay,  as  I  looked  longer,  I  made 
sure  she  also  was  wheeling  to  the  southward.  I  glanced  over  my 
shoulder  and  my  heart  jumped  against  my  ribs.  There,  right  behind 
me,  was  the  glow  of  the  camp-fire.  The  current  had  turned  at  right 
angles,  sweeping  round  along  with  it  the  tall  schooner  and  the  little 
dancing  coracle ;  ever  quickening,  ever  muttering  louder,  it  went  spin- 
ning through  the  narrows  for  the  open  sea. 

Suddenly  the  schooner  in  front  of  me  gave  a  violent  yaw,  turn- 
ing, perhaps,  through  twenty  degrees ;  and  almost  at  the  same  moment 
one  shout  followed  another  from  on  board.  I  coidd  hear  feet 
pounding    on    the    companion    ladder    and    I    knew    that    the    two 


106  TREASURE    ISLAND 

drunkards  had  at  last  been  interrupted  in  their  quarrel  and  awakened 
to  a  sense  of  their  disaster.  I  lay  down  flat  in  the  bottom  of  that 
wretched  skiff  and  devoutly  recommended  my  spirit  to  its  Maker. 
At  the  end  of  the  straits  I  made  sure  we  must  fall  into  some  bar  of 
raging  breakers,  where  all  my  troubles  would  be  ended  speedily.  Sc 
I  must  have  lain  for  hours,  continually  beaten  to  and  fro  upon  the. 
billows,  and  never  ceasing  to  expect  death  at  the  next  plunge.  Grad- 
ually weariness  grew  upon  me,  until  sleep  at  last  intervened,  and  in 
my  sea-tossed  coracle  I  lay  and  dreamed  of  home  and  the  old  Admiral 
Benbow. 


CHAPTER    XXIV 

THE    CRUISE    OF    THE    CORACLE 

It  was  broad  day  when  I  awoke  and  found  myself  tossing  at  the 
southwest  end  of  Treasure  Island.  The  sun  was  up,  but  was  still  hid 
from  me  behind  the  great  bulk  of  the  Spy-glass,  which  on  this  side 
descended  almost  to  the  sea  in  formidable  cliffs. 

Haulbowline  Head  and  Mizzen-mast  Hill  were  at  my  elbow,  the 
hill  bare  and  dark,  the  head  bound  with  cliffs  forty  or  fifty  feet  high 
and  fringed  with  great  masses  of  fallen  rock.  I  was  scarce  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  to  seaward,  and  it  was  my  first  thought  to  paddle  in  and  land. 
That  notion  was  soon  given  over.  Among  the  fallen  rocks  the  break- 
ers spouted  and  bellowed;  and  I  saw  myself,  if  I  ventured  nearer, 
dashed  to  death  upon  the  rough  shore. 

I  had  a  better  chance  before  me.  North  of  Haulbowline  Head 
the  land  runs  in  a  long  way,  leaving,  at  low  tide,  a  long  stretch  of 
yellow  sand.  To  the  north  of  that  again,  there  comes  another  cape — 
Cape  of  the  Woods,  as  it  was  marked  upon  the  chart — buried  in  tall 
green  pines,  which  descended  to  the  margin  of  the  sea.     I  remembered 


TREASURE    ISLAND  107 

what  Silver  had  said  ahont  the  current  that  sets  northward  along  the 
whole  west  coast  of  Treasure  Island;  and  seeing  from  my  position  that 
I  was  already  under  its  influence,  I  preferred  to  reserve  my  strength 
for  an  attempt  to  land  upon  the  Cape  of  the  Woods.  There  was  a 
great,  smooth  swell  upon  the  sea.  The  wind  blowing  steady  and  gen- 
tle from  the  south,  there  was  no  contrariety  between  that  and  the  cur- 
rent, and  the  billows  rose  and  fell  unbroken.  Had  it  been  otherwise, 
I  must  long  ago  have  perished;  I  began  after  a  little  to  grow  very 
bold,  and  set  up  to  try  my  skill  at  paddling.  But  even  a  small  change 
in  the  disposition  of  the  weight  will  produce  violent  changes  in  the 
behavior  of  a  coracle.  And  I  had  hardly  moved  before  the  boat,  giv- 
ing up  at  once  her  gentle,  dancing  movement,  ran  straight  down  a 
slope  of  water  so  steep  that  it  made  me  giddy,  and  struck  her  nose, 
with  a  spout  of  spray,  deep  into  the  side  of  the  next  wave.  I  was 
terrified,  and  fell  back  into  my  old  position,  whereupon  the  coracle 
seemed  to  find  her  head  again,  and  led  me  softly  as  before  among  the 
billows.  It  was  plain  she  was  not  to  be  interfered  with,  and  at  that 
rate  what  hope  had  I  left  of  reaching  land  ? 

I  began  to  be  horribly  frightened,  but  I  kept  my  head.  First, 
moving  with  all  care,  I  gradually  bailed  out  the  coracle  with  my  sea- 
cap  ;  then  getting  my  eye  once  more  above  the  gunwale,  I  set  myself  to 
study  how  it  was  she  managed  to  slip  so  quietly  through  the  rollers. 
I  found  each  wave,  instead  of  the  big,  smooth,  glossy  mountain  it 
looks  from  shore,  or  from  a  vessel's  deck,  was  for  all  the  world  like 
any  range  of  hills  on  the  dry  land,  full  of  peaks  and  smooth  places  and 
valleys.  The  coracle,  left  to  herself,  turning  from  side  to  side,  avoided 
the  steep  slopes  and  higher  toppling  summits  of  the  wave.  "Well, 
now,"  thought  I  to  myself,  "it  is  plain  I  must  lie  where  I  am,  and  not 
disturb  the  balance ;  but  it  is  plain,  also,  that  I  can  put  the  paddle  over 
the  side,  and  from  time  to  time,  in  smooth  places,  give  her  a  shove  or 
two  toward  land."  No  sooner  thought  than  done.  It  was  very  tiring 
and  slow  work,  yet  I  did  visibly  gain  ground ;  and,  as  we  drew  near  the 


108  TREASURE    ISLAND 

Cape  of  the  Woods,  though  I  saw  I  must  infallibly  miss  that  point,  I 
was  close  in.  I  could  see  the  cool,  green  tree-tops  swaying  together 
in  the  breeze,  and  I  felt  sure  I  should  make  the  next  promontory 
without  fail. 

It  was  high  time,  for  I  now  began  to  be  tortured  with  thirst.  The 
sight  of  the  trees  so  near  at  hand  had  almost  made  me  sick  with  long- 
ing; but  the  current  had  soon  carried  me  past  the  point;  and,  as  the 
next  reach  of  sea  opened  out,  I  beheld  a  sight  that  changed  the  nature 
of  my  thoughts.  Right  in  front  of  me,  not  half  a  mile  away,  I  beheld 
the  Hispaniola  under  sail. 

She  was  under  her  mainsail  and  two  jibs,  and  the  beautiful  white 
canvas  shone  in  the  sun  like  snow.  When  I  first  sighted  her,  all  her 
sails  were  draAving,  she  was  lying  a  course  about  northwest,  and  I  pre- 
sumed the  men  on  board  were  going  round  the  island  on  their  way 
back  to  the  anchorage.  Presently  she  began  to  fetch  more  and  more 
to  the  westward,  so  that  I  thought  they  had  sighted  me  and  were 
going  about  in  chase.  At  last,  however,  she  fell  right  into  the  wind's 
eye,  was  taken  dead  aback,  and  stood  there  a  while  helpless,  with  her 
sails  shivering.  "Clumsy  fellows,"  said  I,  "they  must  still  be  drunk  as 
owls."  And  I  thought  how  Captain  Smollett  would  have  set  them 
skipping. 

Meanwhile  the  schooner  gradually  fell  off,  and  filled  again  upon 
another  tack,  sailed  swiftly  for  a  minute  or  so,  and  brought  up  once 
more  dead  in  the  wind's  eye.  Again  and  again  was  this  repeated.  It 
became  plain  to  me  that  nobody  was  steering.  And  if  so,  where  were 
the  men?  Either  they  were  dead  drunk,  or  had  deserted  her,  I 
thought,  and  perhaps  if  I  could  get  on  board  I  might  return  the  vessel 
to  her  captain.  The  current  was  bearing  coracle  and  schooner  north- 
ward at  an  equal  rate.  As  for  the  latter's  sailing,  it  was  so  wild  and 
intermittent,  that  she  certainly  gained  nothing,  if  she  did  not  even  lose. 
If  only  I  dared  to  sit  up  and  paddle  I  made  sure  that  I  could  over- 
haul her. 


TREASURE    ISLAND  109 

Up  I  got,  was  welcomed  almost  instantly  by  another  cloud  of 
spray,  but  this  time  stuck  to  my  purpose  and  set  myself  with  all  my 
strength  to  paddle  after  the  unsteered  Hispaniola.  I  gained  rapidly 
on  the  schooner.  I  could  see  the  brass  glisten  on  the  tiller  as  it  banged 
about. 

At  last  I  had  my  chance.  The  breeze  fell,  for  some  seconds,  very 
low,  and  the  current  gradually  turning  her,  the  Hispaniola  revolved 
slowly  round  her  center  and  at  last  presented  me  her  stern.  The 
mainsail  hung  drooped  like  a  banner.  She  was  stock-still  but  for  the 
current.  I  was  not  a  hundred  yards  from  her  when  the  wind  came 
again  in  a  clap ;  she  rilled  on  the  port  tack  and  was  off  again,  stooping 
and  skimming  like  a  swallow. 

My  first  impulse  was  one  of  despair,  but  my  second  was  toward 
joy.  Round  she  came,  till  she  was  broadside  on  to  me — round  still  till 
she  had  covered  a  half,  and  then  two-thirds,  and  then  three-quarters  of 
the  distance  that  separated  us.  I  could  see  the  waves  boiling  white 
under  her  forefoot.  And  then,  of  a  sudden,  I  began  to  comprehend. 
I  was  on  the  summit  of  one  swell  when  the  schooner  came  stooping 
over  the  next.  The  bowsprit  was  over  my  head.  I  sprung  to  my 
feet  and  leaped,  stamping  the  coracle  under  water.  With  one  hand 
I  caught  the  jib-boom,  while  my  foot  was  lodged  between  the  stay  and 
the  brace,  and  as  I  still  clung  there  panting,  a  dull  blow  told  me  that 
the  schooner  had  charged  down  upon  and  struck  the  coracle,  and  that 
I  was  left  without  retreat  on  the  Hispaniola. 


10  TREASURE    ISLAND 


CHAPTER    XXV 

I    STRIKE    THE    JOLLY    ROGER 

I  had  scarce  gained  a  position  on  the  bowsprit  when  the  flying 
jib  flapped  and  filled  upon  the  other  tack  with  a  report  like  a  gun. 
This  had  nearly  tossed  me  off  into  the  sea,  and  now  1  lost  no  time, 
crawled  back  along  the  bowsprit  and  tumbled  headforemost  on  the 
deck.  I  was  on  the  lee  side  of  the  forecastle,  and  the  mainsail,  which 
was  still  drawing,  concealed  from  me  a  certain  portion  of  the  after- 
deck.     Not  a  soul  was  to  be  seen. 

Suddenly  the  Hispaniola  came  right  into  the  wind.  The  jibs 
behind  me  cracked  aloud ;  the  rudder  slammed  to ;  the  whole  ship  gave 
a  heave,  and  at  the  same  moment  the  main-boom  swung  inboard,  and 
showed  me  the  lee  after-deck.  There  were  the  two  watchmen,  sure 
enough;  Red-cap  on  his  back,  as  stiff  as  a  handspike;  Israel  Hands 
propped  against  the  bulwarks,  his  chin  on  his  chest,  his  face  as  white  as 
a  tallow  candle.  At  the  same  time  I  observed,  around  both  of  them, 
splashes  of  dark  blood  upon  the  planks,  and  began  to  feel  sure  that 
they  had  killed  each  other. 

While  I  was  looking  and  wondering,  in  a  calm  moment  when  the 
ship  was  still,  Israel  Hands  turned  partly  round,  with  a  low  moan. 
The  moan  went  right  to  my  heart;  but  when  I  remembered  the  talk  I 
had  overheard  from  the  apple  barrel,  all  pity  left  me.  I  walked  aft 
until  I  reached  the  mainmast.  "Come  aboard,  Mr.  Hands,"  I  said, 
ironically.  He  rolled  his  eyes  round  heavily,  but  he  was  too  far  gone 
to  express  surprise.  All  he  could  do  was  to  utter  one  word :  "Brandy!" 
It  occurred  to  me  there  was  no  time  to  lose,  and  dodging  the  boom  as 
it  once  more  lurched  across  the  deck,  I  slipped  aft  and  down  the 
companion-stairs  into  the  cabin, 

I  went  into  the  cellar;  all  the  barrels  were  gone,  and  of  the  bottles 


TREASURE    ISLAND  \  I  ] 

"a  most  surprising'  number  had  been  drank  out  and  thrown  away. 
Certainly,  since  the  mutiny  began,  not  a  man  of  them  could  ever  have 
been  sober.  Foraging  about,  I.  found  a  bottle  with  some  brandy  left, 
for  Hands;  and  for  myself  I  routed  out  some  biscuit,  some  pickled 
fruits,  a  great  bunch  of  raisins,  and  a  piece  of  cheese.  With  these  I 
came  on  deck,  went  forward  to  the  water-breaker,  and  had  a  good, 
deep  drink  of  water,  and  not  until  then,  gave  Hands  the  brandy. 

He  must  have  drunk  a  gill  before  he  took  the  bottle  from  his 
mouth.  "Ay,"  said  he,  "by  thunder,  but  I  wanted  some  o'  that!"- 
"Mueh  hurt?"  I  asked  him.  He  grunted,  or,  rather,  I  might  say,  he 
barked. — "If  that  doctor  was  aboard,"  he  said,  "I'd  be  right  enough 
in  a  couple  of  turns;  but  I  don't  have  no  manner  of  luck,  you  see,  and 
that's  what's  the  matter  with  me.  And  where  mought  you  have  come 
from?"-  "Well,"  said  I,  "I've  come  aboard  to  take  possession  of  this 
ship,  Hands,  and  you'll  please  regard  me  as  your  captain  until  further 
notice.  By  the  by,"  I  continued,  "I  can't  have  these  colors,"  and, 
again  dodging  the  boom,  I  ran  to  the  color  lines,  hauled  down  their 
cursed  black  flag,  and  chucked  it  overboard.  "God  save  the  king!" 
said  I,  waving  my  cap;  "and  there's  an  end  to  Captain  Silver." 

He  watched  me  keenly  and  slyly,  his  chin  all  the  while  on  his 
breast.  "I  reckon,"  he  said  at  last,  "you'll  kind  o'  want  to  get  ashore, 
now.  S'pose  we  talks." — "Why,  yes,"  says  I,  "with  all  my  heart, 
Hands.  Say  on." — "This  man,"  he  began,  nodding  feebly  at  the 
corpse,  "this  man  and  me  got  the  canvas  on  her,  meaning  for  to  sail 
her  back.  Well,  he's  dead  now,  he  is,  and  who's  to  sail  this  ship,  I 
don't  see.  Without  I  give  you  a  hint,  you  ain't  that  man,  as  far's  I 
can  tell.  Now,  look  here,  you  gives  me  food  and  drink,  and  a  old 
ankecher  to  tie  my  wound  up,  you  do;  and  I'll  tell  you  how  to  sail  her; 
and  that's  about  square  all  round,  I  take  it." — "I'll  tell  you  one  thing," 
says  I,  "I'm  not  going  back  to  Captain  Kidd's  anchorage.  I  mean 
to  get  into  North  Inlet,  and  beach  her  quietly  there." — "To  be  sure 
you  did,"  he  cried.     "Why,  I  ain't  sich  an  infernal  lubber,  after  all. 


112  TREASURE    ISLAND 

I  can  see,  can't  I?  I've  tried  my  fling,  I  have,  and  I've  lost,  and  it's 
you  has  the  wind  of  me.  North  Inlet?  Why,  I  haven't  no  ch'ice, 
not  I.  I'd  help  you  sail  her  up  to  Execution  Dock,  by  thunder!  so  I 
would." 

Well,  we  struck  our  bargain  on  the  spot.  In  three  minutes  I  had 
the  Hispaniola  sailings  easily  before  the  wind  along  the  coast  of 
Treasure  Island,  with  good  hopes  of  turning  the  northern  point  ere 
noon.  Then  I  lashed  the  tiller  and  went  below  to  my  own  chest, 
where  I  got  a  soft  silk  handkerchief.  With  this,  and  with  my  aid, 
Hands  bound  up  the  great  stab  he  had  received  in  the  thigh,  and  after 
he  had  eaten  a  little  and  had  a  swallow  or  two  more  of  the  brandy,  he 
began  to  pick  up  visibly,  sat  straighter  up,  spoke  louder  and  clearer, 
and  looked  in  every  way  another  man. 

The  breeze  served  us  admirably.  We  skimmed  before  it  like  a 
bird,  the  coast  of  the  island  flashing  by,  and  the  view  changing  every 
minute.  Soon  we  had  turned  the  corner  of  the  rocky  hill  that  ends 
the  island  on  the  north.  I  was  greatly  elated  with  my  new  command, 
and  pleased  with  the  bright,  sunshiny  weather.  I  had  now  plenty  of 
water  and  good  things  to  eat,  and  my  conscience,  which  had  smitten  me 
hard  for  my  desertion,  was  quieted  by  the  great  conquest  I  had  made. 
I  should,  I  think,  have  had  nothing  left  to  desire  but  for  the  eyes  of 
the  cockswain  as  they  followed  me  derisively  about  the  deck,  and  the 
odd  smile  that  appeared  continually  on  his  face.  It  was  a  smile  that 
had  in  it  a  grain  of  derision,  a  shadow  of  treachery,  as  he  craftily 
watched  and  watched  me  at  my  work. 


TREASURE    ISLAND 


113 


Page  119. 


i  14  TREASURE    ISLAND 


CHAPTER    XXVI 

ISRAEL    HANDS 

t 

The  wind,  serving  us  to  a  desire,  now  hauled  into  the  west.  We 
could  run  so  much  the  easier  from  the  northwest  corner  of  the  island 
to  the  mouth  of  the  North  Inlet.  Only,  as  we  dared  not  beach  her 
until  the  tide  had  flowed  a  good  deal  farther,  time  hung  on  our  hands. 
The  cockswain  told  me  how  to  lay  the  ship  to ;  after  a  good  many  trials 
I  succeeded,  and  we  both  sat  in  silence,  over  another  meal. 

"Cap'n,"  said  he,  at  length,  with  that  same  uncomfortable  smile, 
"I'll  take  it  kind  if  you'd  step  down  into  that  there  cabin  and  get  me 
a — well,  a — shiver  my  timbers !  I  can't  hit  the  name  on't.  Well,  you 
get  me  a  bottle  of  wine,  Jim — this  here  brandy's  too  strong  for  my 
head." 

Now  the  cockswain's  hesitation  seemed  to  be  unnatural;  and,  as 
for  the  notion  of  his  preferring  wine  to  brandy,  I  entirely  disbelieved 
it.  The  whole  story  was  a  pretext.  He  wanted  me  to  leave  the  deck 
— so  much  was  plain,  but  with  what  purpose  I  could  in  no  way  imagine. 
His  eyes  never  met  mine;  they  kept  wandering  to  and  fro,  up  and 
down.  I  was  prompt  with  my  answer,  however,  for  I  saw  where  my 
advantage  lay.  "Some  wine?"  I  said.  "Will  you  have  white  or  red?" 
— "Well,  I  reckon  it's  about  the  blessed  same  to  me,  shipmate,"  he 
replied;  "so  it's  strong,  and  plenty  of  it,  what's  the  odds?" — "All 
right,"  I  answered.  "I'll  bring  you  port,  Hands.  But  I'll  have  to 
dig  for  it."  With  that  I  scuttled  down  the  companion  with  all  the 
noise  I  could,  slipped  off  my  shoes,  ran  quietly  along  the  sparred 
gallery,  mounted  the  forecastle  ladder,  and  popped  my  head  out  of  the 
fore  companion.  I  knew  he  would  not  expect  to  see  me  there,  yet  I 
took  every  precaution  possible,  and  certainly  the  worst  of  my  sus- 
picions proved  too  true. 


TREASURE    ISLAND  115 

He  had  risen  from  his  position  to  his  hands  and  knees,  and  though 
his  leg  obviously  hurt  him  pretty  sharply  when  he  moved — for  I  could 
hear  him  stifle  a  groan — yet  he  trailed  himself  across  the  deck.  In 
half  a  minute  he  had  reached  the  port  scujipers,  and  picked  out  of  a 
coil  of  rope  a  long  knife,  or  rather  a  short  dirk.  He  looked  upon  it 
for  a  moment,  tried  the  point  upon  his  hand,  and  then  hastily  conceal- 
ing it  in  the  bosom  of  his  jacket,  trundled  back  again  into  his  old  place 
against  the  bulwark.  This  was  all  that  I  required  to  know.  Israel 
could  move  about;  he  was  now  armed,  and  it  was  plain  that  I  was 
meant  to  be  the  victim.  Yet  I  felt  sure  that  I  could  trust  him  in  one 
point,  since  in  that  our  interests  jumped  together,  and  that  was  in  the 
disposition  of  the  schooner.  We  both  desired  to  have  her  stranded 
safe  in  a  sheltered  place,  and  until  that  was  done,  I  considered  that  my 
life  would  be  spared. 

While  I  was  thus  turning  the  business  over  in  my  mind,  I  had 
stolen  back  to  the  cabin,  slipped  once  more  into  my  shoes,  and  laid  my 
hand  at  random  on  a  bottle  of  wine,  and  now  made  my  reappearance 
on  the  deck. 

Hands  lay  as  I  had  left  him,  all  fallen  together  in  a  bundle,  and 
with  his  eyelids  lowered  as  though  he  were  too  weak  to  bear  the  light. 
He  looked  up,  however,  at  my  coming,  and  took  a  good  swig,  with 
his  favorite  toast  of  "Here's  luck!"  Then  he  lay  quiet  for  a  little, 
and  then,  pulling  out  a  stick  of  tobacco,  begged  me  to  cut  him  a  quid. 
"Cut  me  a  junk  o'  that,"  says  he,  "for  I  haven't  no  knife,  and  hardly 
strength  enough,  so  be  as  I  had.  Ah,  Jim,  Jim,  I  reckon  I've  missed 
stays!  Cut  me  a  quid  as'll  likely  be  the  last,  lad;  for  I'm  for  my  long 
home,  and  no  mistake." 

"Look  here,"  he  added,  suddenly  changing  his  tone,  "the  tide's 
made  good  enough  by  now.  You  just  take  my  orders,  Cap'n 
Hawkins,  and  we'll  sail  slap  in  and  be  done  with  it." 

All  told,  we  had  scarce  two  miles  to  run,  but  the  navigation  was 
delicate ;  the  entrance  to  this  northern  anchorage  was  not  only  narrow 


116  TREASURE    ISLAND 

and  shoal,  but  lay  east  and  west,  so  that  the  schooner  must  be  nicely 
handled  to  be  got  in.  Scarcely  had  we  passed  the  head  before  the 
land  closed  around  us.  The  shores  of  North  Inlet  were  as  thickly 
wooded  as  those  of  the  southern  anchorage,  but  the  space  was  longer 
and  narrower,  and  more  like,  what  in  truth  it  was,  the  estuary  of  a 
river.  "Now,"  said  Hands,  "look  there;  there's  a  pet  bit  for  to  beach 
a  ship  in.  Fine  flat  sand,  never  a  catspaw,  trees  all  around  of  it  and 
flowers  a-blowing  like  a  garding."  He  issued  his  commands,  which 
I  breathlessly  obeyed;  till,  all  of  a  sudden,  he  cried:  "Now,  my  hearty, 
luff!"  And  I  put  the  helm  hard  up  and  the  Hispaniola  swung  round 
rapidly  and  ran  stem  on  for  the  low-wooded  shore. 

The  excitement  of  these  last  maneuvers  had  somewhat  interfered 
with  the  watch  I  had  kept  hitherto  upon  the  cockswain,  and  I  stood 
watching  the  ripples  spreading  out  before  the  bows.  I  might  have 
fallen  without  a  struggle  had  not  a  sudden  disquietude  seized  upon 
me  and  made  me  turn  my  head.  Sure  enough,  when  I  looked  around, 
there  was  Hands,  already  halfway  toward  me,  with  the  dirk  in  his 
right  hand.  At  the  same  instant,  he  threw  himself  forward  and  I 
leaped  sideways  toward  the  bows.  As  I  did  so  I  left  hold  of  the  tiller, 
which  sprung  sharp  to  leeward ;  and  I  think  this  saved  my  life,  for  it 
struck  Hands  across  the  chest,  and  stopped  him,  for  the  moment,  dead. 
Before  he  could  recover  I  was  safe  out  of  the  corner  where  he  had  me 
trapped,  with  all  the  deck  to  dodge  about.  Just  forward  of  the  main- 
mast I  stopped,  drew  a  pistol  from  my  pocket,  took  a  cool  aim  and 
drew  the  trigger.  The  hammer  fell,  but  there  followed  neither  flash 
nor  sound;  the  priming  was  useless  with  sea-water.  I  cursed  myself 
for  my  neglect.  Why  had  not  I,  long  before,  reprimed  and  reloaded 
my  only  weapons  ? 

Wounded  as  he  was,  it  was  wonderful  how  fast  he  could  move. 
One  thing  I  saw  plainly;  I  must  not  simply  retreat  before  him,  or  he 
would  speedily  hold  me  boxed  into  the  bows,  as  a  moment  since 
he  had  so  nearly  boxed  me  in  the  stem.      Once  so  caught,  and  nine 


TREASURE    ISLAND  1  1  7 

or  ten  inches  of  the  dirk  would  be  my  last  experience  on  this  side  of 
eternity.  I  placed  my  palms  against  the  mainmast,  which  was  of  a 
goodish  bigness,  and  waited,  every  nerve  upon  the  stretch.  Seeing 
that  I  meant  to  dodge,  he  also  paused,  and  a  moment  or  two  passed  in 
feints  on  his  part  and  corresponding  movements  upon  mine. 

Well,  while  things  stood  thus,  suddenly  the  Ilispaniola  struck, 
staggered,  ground  for  an  instant  in  the  sand,  and  then,  swift  as  a 
blow,  canted  over  to  the  port  side,  till  the  deck  stood  at  an  angle  of 
forty-five  degrees.  We  were  both  of  us  capsized  in  a  second,  and  both 
of  us  rolled,  almost  together,  into  the  scuppers,  but  I  was  the  first  afoot 
again.  The  sudden  canting  of  the  ship  had  made  the  deck  no  place 
for  running  on;  I  had  to  find  some  new  way  of  escape.  Quick  as 
thought,  I  sprung  into  the  mizzen-shrouds,  rattled  up  hand  over  hand, 
and  did  not  draw  a  breath  till  I  was  seated  on  the  cross-trees. 

I  had  been  saved  by  being  prompt;  the  dirk  had  struck  not  half 
a  foot  below  me,  as  I  pursued  my  upward  flight;  and  there  stood 
Israel  Hands  with  his  mouth  open  and  his  face  upturned  to  mine,  a 
perfect  statue  of  surprise  and  disappointment.  Now  that  I  had  a 
moment  to  myself,  I  lost  no  time  in  changing  the  priming  of  my  pistol, 
and  then,  having  one  ready  for  service,  and  to  make  assurance  doubly 
sure,  I  proceeded  to  draw  the  load  of  the  other,  and  recharged  it  afresh 
from  the  beginning. 

My  new  employment  struck  Hands  all  of  a  heap;  he  began  to 
see  the  dice  going  against  him,  and  after  an  obvious  hesitation,  he  also 
hauled  himself  heavily  into  the  shrouds,  and,  with  the  dirk  in  his  teeth, 
began  slowly  and  painfully  to  mount.  It  cost  him  no  end  of  time  and 
groans  to  haul  his  wounded  leg  behind  him ;  and  I  had  quietly  finished 
my  arrangements  before  he  was  much  more  than  a  third  of  the  way  up. 
Then,  with  a  pistol  in  either  hand,  I  addressed  him:  "One  more  step, 
Hands,"  said  I,  "and  I'll  blow  your  brains  out!" 

He  stopped  instantly.  I  could  see  by  the  workings  of  his  face 
that  he  was  trying  to  think.     At  last,  with  a  swallow  or  two,  he  spoke, 


118  TREASURE    ISLAND 

his  face  still  wearing  the  expression  of  perplexity.  In  order  to  speak 
he  had  to  take  the  dagger  from  his  mouth,  but,  in  all  else,  he  remained 
unmoved.  "Jim,"  says  he,  "I  reckon  we're  fouled,  you  and  me,  and 
we'll  have  to  sign  articles.  I'd  have  had  you  but  for  that  there  lurch; 
but  I  don't  have  no  luck,  not  I ;  and  I  reckon  I'll  have  to  strike,  which 
comes  hard,  you  see,  for  a  master  mariner  to  a  ship's  younker  like 
you,  Jim." 

I  was  drinking  in  his  words  and  smiling  away,  as  conceited  as  a 
cock  upon  a  walk,  when,  all  in  a  breath,  back  went  his  right  hand  over 
his  shoulder.  Something  sung  like  an  arrow  through  the  air;  I  felt  a 
blow  and  then  a  sharp  pang,  and  there  I  was  pinned  by  the  shoulder 
to  the  mast.  In  the  horrid  pain  and  surprise  of  the  moment  both  my 
pistols  went  off,  and  both  escaped  out  of  my  hands.  They  did  not 
fall  alone;  with  a  choked  cry  the  cockswain  loosed  his  grasp  upon  the 
shrouds,  and  plunged  head  first  into  the  water. 


CHAPTER   XXVII 


'pieces  of  eight" 


Owing  to  the  cant  of  the  vessel,  the  masts  hung  far  out  over  the 
water,  and  from  my  perch  on  the  cross-trees  I  had  nothing  below  me 
but  the  surface  of  the  bay.  As  the  water  settled,  I  could  see  him  lying 
huddled  together  on  the  clean,  bright  sand  in  the  shadow  of  the  vessel's 
sides,  food  for  fish  in  the  very  place  where  he  had  designed  my 
slaughter.  I  was  no  sooner  certain  of  this  than  I  began  to  feel  sick, 
faint,  and  terrified.  The  hot  blood  was  running  over  my  back  and 
chest.  The  dirk,  where  it  had  pinned  my  shoulder  to  the  mast,  seemed 
to  burn  like  a  hot  iron.  Gradually,  however,  my  pulses  quieted  down 
to  a  more  natural  time,  and  I  was  once  more  in  possession  of  myself. 


TREASURE    ISLAND  I  19 

It  was  my  first  thought  to  pluck  forth  the  dirk;  hut  either  it 
stuck  too  hard  or  my  nerve  failed  me,  and  I  desisted  with  a  violent 
shudder.  Oddly  enough,  that  very  shudder  did  the  business.  The 
knife,  in  fact,  had  come  the  nearest  in  the  world  to  missing  me  alto- 
gether; it  held  me  by  a  mere  pinch  of  skin,  and  this  the  shudder  tore 
away.  The  blood  ran  down  the  faster,  to  be  sure,  but  I  was  nty  own 
master  again,  and  only  tacked  to  the  mast  by  my  coat  and  shirt.  These 
last  I  broke  through  with  a  sudden  jerk,  and  then  regained  the  deck 
by  the  starboard  shrouds. 

I  went  below  and  did  what  I  could  for  my  wound;  it  pained  me 
a  good  deal,  and  still  bled  freely,  but  it  was  neither  deep  nor  danger- 
ous, nor  did  it  greatly  gall  me  when  I  used  my  arm.  Then  I  looked 
around  me,  and  as  the  ship  was  now,  in  a  sense,  my  own,  I  began  to 
think  of  clearing  it  from  its  last  passenger — the  dead  man,  O'Brien. 
He  had  pitched  against  the  bulwarks,  and  as  the  habit  of  tragical 
adventures  had  worn  off  almost  all  my  terror  for  the  dead,  I  took 
him  by  the  waist  as  if  he  had  been  a  sack  of  bran,  and,  with  one  good 
heave,  tumbled  him  overboard.  He  went  in  with  a  sounding  plunge, 
the  red  cap  came  off  and  remained  floating  on  the  surface,  and  as  soon 
as  the  splash  subsided,  I  could  see  him  and  Israel  lying  side  by  side, 
both  wavering  with  the  tremulous  movement  of  the  water. 

I  was  now  alone  upon  the  ship;  the  tide  had  just  turned.  The 
sun  was  within  a  few  degrees  of  setting.  The  evening  breeze  had 
sprung  up,  and  though  it  was  well  warded  off  by  the  hill  with  the  two 
peaks  upon  the  east,  the  cordage  had  begun  to  sing  a  little  softly  to 
itself  and  the  idle  sails  to  rattle  to  and  fro.  I  began  to  see  a  danger  to 
the  ship.  The  jibs  I  speedily  doused  and  brought  tumbling  to  the 
deck,  but  the  mainsail  was  a  harder  matter.  Of  course,  when  the 
schooner  canted  over,  the  boom  had  swung  outboard,  and  the  cap  of  it 
and  a  foot  or  two  of  sail  hung  even  under  water.  I  thought  this  made 
it  still  more  dangerous,  yet  the  strain  was  so  heavy  that  I  half  feared 
to  meddle.     At  last  I  got  my  knife  and  cut  the  halyards.     The  peak 


120  TREASURE    ISLAND 

dropped  instantly,  a  great  belly  of  loose  canvas  floated  broad  npon  the 
water;  and  since,  pull  as  I  liked,  I  could  not  budge  the  downhaul,  that 
was  the  extent  of  what  I  could  accomplish.  For  the  rest,  the  His- 
paniola  must  trust  to  luck,  like  myself. 

By  this  time  the  whole  anchorage  had  fallen  into  shadow — the 
last  rays,  I  remember,  falling  through  a  glade  of  the  wood.  It  began 
to  be  chill,  the  tide  was  rapidly  fleeting  seaward,  the  schooner  settling 
more  and  more  on  her  beam-ends.  I  scrambled  fonvard  and  looked 
over.  It  seemed  shallow  enough,  and  holding  the  cut  hawser  in  both 
hands  for  a  last  security,  I  let  myself  drop  softly  overboard.  The 
water  scarcely  reached  my  waist;  the  sand  was  firm  and  covered  with 
ripple-marks,  and  I  waded  ashore  in  great  spirits,  leaving  the  His- 
paniola  on  her  side,  with  her  mainsail  trailing  wide  upon  the  surface 
of  the  bay.  About  the  same  time  the  sun  went  fairly  down,  and  the 
breeze  whistled  low  in  the  dusk  among  the  tossing  pines. 

At  least,  and  at  last,  I  was  off  the  sea,  nor  had  I  returned  thence 
empty-handed.  There  lay  the  schooner,  clear  at  last  from  buccaneers 
and  ready  for  our  own  men  to  board  and  get  to  sea  again.  I  had 
nothing  nearer  my  fancy  than  to  get  home  to  the  stockade  and  boast 
of  my  achievements.  Possibly,  I  might  be  blamed  a  bit  for  my  tru- 
antry,  but  the  recapture  of  the  Ilispaniola  was  a  clinching  answer,  and 
I  hoped  that  even  Captain  Smollett  would  confess  I  had  not  lost  my 
time.  So  thinking,  and  in  famous  spirits,  I  began  to  set  my  face 
homeward  for  the  block-house  and  my  companions. 

The  wood  was  pretty  open,  and  keeping  along  the  lower  spurs,  I 
had  soon  turned  the  corner  of  the  hill,  and  not  long  after  waded  to  the 
mid-calf  across  the  water-course.  This  brought  me  nearer  to  where 
I  had  encountered  Ben  Gunn,  the  maroon,  and  I  walked  more  cir- 
cumspectly, keeping  an  eye  on  every  side.  Gradually  the  night  fell 
blacker;  it  was  all  I  could  do  to  guide  myself  even  roughly  toward  my 
destination;  the  double  hill  behind  me  and  the  Spy-glass  on  my  right 
hand  loomed  faint  and  fainter,  the  stars  were  few  and  pale,  and  in 


TREASURE    ISLAND  121 

the  low  ground  where  I  wandered  I  kept  tripping  among  bushes  and 
rolling  into  sandy  pits. 

Suddenly  a  kind  of  brightness  fell  about  me.  I  looked  up;  a 
pale  glimmer  of  moonbeams  had  alighted  on  the  summit  of  the  Spy- 
glass, and  soon  after  I  saw  something  broad  and  silvery  moving  low 
down  behind  the  trees,  and  knew  the  moon  had  risen.  With  this  to 
help  me,  I  passed  rapidly  over  what  remained  to  me  of  my  journey; 
and,  sometimes  walking,  sometimes  running,  impatiently  drew  near 
to  the  stockade.  Yet,  as  I  began  to  tread  the  grove  that  lies  before  it, 
I  was  not  so  thoughtless  but  that  I  slacked  my  pace  and  went  a  trifle 
warily.  It  would  have  been  a  poor  end  of  my  adventures  to  get  shot 
down  by  my  own  party  in  mistake. 

The  moon  was  climbing  higher  and  higher;  its  light  began  to  fall 
here  and  there  in  masses  through  the  more  open  districts  of  the  wood, 
and  right  in  front  of  me  a  glow  of  a  different  color  appeared  among 
the  trees.  It  was  red  and  hot,  and  now  and  again  it  was  little  dark- 
ened— as  it  were  the  embers  of  a  bonfire  smoldering.  For  the  life  of 
me  I  could  not  think  what  it  might  be.  At  last  I  came  right  down 
upon  the  borders  of  the  clearing.  The  western  end  was  already 
steeped  in  moonshine;  the  rest,  and  the  block-house  itself,  still  lay  in 
a  black  shadow,  checkered  with  long,  silvery  streaks  of  light.  On 
the  other  side  of  the  house  an  immense  fire  had  burned  itself  into  clear 
embers  and  shed  a  steady,  red  reverberation,  contrasting  strongly  with 
the  mellow  paleness  of  the  moon.  There  was  not  a  soul  stirring,  nor 
a  sound  beside  the  noises  of  the  breeze. 

I  stopped,  with  much  wonder  in  my  heart,  and  perhaps  a  little 
terror  also.  It  had  not  been  our  way  to  build  great  fires;  we  were, 
indeed,  by  the  captain's  orders,  somewhat  niggardly  of  firewood,  and 
I  began  to  fear  that  something  had  gone  wrong  while  I  was  absent. 

I  stole  round  by  the  eastern  end,  keeping  close  in  shadow,  and  at 
a  convenient  place,  where  the  darkness  was  thickest,  crossed  the  pali- 
sade.    To  make  assurance  surer,  I  got  upon  my  hands  and  knees,  and 


122  TREASURE    ISLAND 

crawled  toward  the  corner  of  the  house.  As  I  drew  nearer,  my  heart 
was  suddenly  and  greatly  lightened.  It  was  not  a  pleasant  noise  in 
itself,  and  I  have  often  complained  of  it  at  other  times,  but  just  then 
it  was  like  music  to  hear  my  friends  snoring  together  so  loud  and 
peaceful  in  their  sleep.  The  sea-cry  of  the  watch,  that  beautiful 
"All's  well,"  never  fell  more  reassuringly  on  my  ears. 

By  this  time  I  had  got  to  the  door  and  stood  up.  All  was  dark 
within,  so  that  I  could  distinguish  nothing  by  the  eye.  As  for  sounds, 
there  was  the  steady  drone  of  the  snorers,  and  a  small  occasional  noise, 
a  flickering  or  pecking  that  I  could  in  no  way  account  for.  With  my 
arms  before  me  I  walked  steadily  in.  I  should  lie  down  in  my  own 
place  and  enjoy  their  faces  when  they  found  me  in  the  morning.  My 
foot  struck  something  yielding — it  was  a  sleeper's  leg,  and  he  turned 
and  groaned,  but  without  awaking.  And  then,  all  of  a  sudden,  a 
shrill  voice  broke  forth  out  of  the  darkness:  "Pieces  of  eight!  pieces 
of  eight!  pieces  of  eight!  pieces  of  eight!  pieces  of  eight!"  and  so  forth, 
without  pause  or  change,  like  the  clacking  of  a  tiny  mill.  Silver's 
green  parrot,  Captain  Flint!  It  was  she  whom  I  had  heard  pecking 
at  a  piece  of  bark;  it  was  she,  keeping  better  watch  than  any  human 
being,  who  thus  announced  my  arrival  with  her  wearisome  refrain. 

I  had  no  time  left  me  to  recover.  At  the  sharp,  clipping  tone  of 
the  parrot,  the  sleepers  awoke  and  sprung  up,  and  with  a  mighty  oath 
the  voice  of  Silver  cried:  "Who  goes?"  I  turned  to  run,  struck  vio- 
lently against  one  person,  recoiled,  and  ran  full  into  the  arms  of  a 
second,  who,  for  his  part,  closed  upon  and  held  me  tight.  "Bring  a 
torch,  Dick,"  said  Silver,  when  my  capture  was  thus  assured.  And 
one  of  the  men  left  the  log-house,  and  presently  returned  with  a  lighted 
brand. 


TREASURE    ISLAND 


123 


Patre  134. 


124  TREASURE    ISLAND 


CHAPTER    XXVIII 

IN   THE   ENEMY'S   CAMP 

The  red  glare  of  the  torch  lighting  up  the  interior  of  the  block- 
house,  showed  me  the  worst  of  my  apprehensions  realized.  The  pirates 
were  in  possession  of  the  house  and  stores ;  there  was  a  cask  of  cognac, 
there  were  the  pork  and  bread,  as  before;  and,  what  tenfold  increased 
my  horror,  not  a  sign  of  any  prisoner.  I  could  only  judge  that  all  had 
perished,  and  my  heart  smote  me  sorely  that  I  had  not  been  there  to 
perish  with  them. 

There  were  six  of  the  buccaneers,  all  told;  not  another  man  was 
left  alive.  The  parrot  sat,  preening  her  plumage,  on  Long  John's 
shoulder.  He  himself,  I  thought,  looked  somewhat  paler  and  more 
stern.  "So,"  said  he,  "here's  Jim  Hawkins,  shiver  my  timbers! 
dropped  in,  like,  eh?  Well,  come,  I  take  that  friendly."  And  there- 
upon he  sat  down  across  the  brandy-cask,  and  began  to  fill  a  pipe. 
"Give  me  the  loan  of  a  link,  Dick,"  said  he;  and  then,  when  he  had  a 
good  light,  "That'll  do,  my  lad,"  he  added,  "stick  the  glim  in  the  wood 
heap;  and  you,  gentlemen,  bring  yourselves  to! — you  needn't  stand  up 
for  Mr.  Hawkins;  he'll  excuse  you,  you  may  lay  to  that.  And  so, 
Jim,  here  you  are,  and  quite  a  pleasant  surprise  for  poor  old  John.  I 
see  you  were  smart  when  first  I  set  my  eyes  on  you,  but  this  here  gets 
away  from  me  clean,  it  do." 

To  all  this,  as  may  be  well  supposed,  I  made  no  answer.  They 
had  set  me  with  my  back  against  the  wall,  and  I  stood  there,  looking 
Silver  in  the  face,  pluckily  enough,  to  all  outward  appearance,  but 
with  black  despair  in  my  heart. 

Silver  took  a  whiff  or  two  of  his  pipe  with  great  composure,  and 
then  ran  on  again:  "Now,  you  see,  Jim,  so  be  you  are  here,"  says  he, 
"I'll  give  you  a  piece  of  my  mind.     I've  always  liked  you,  I  have,  for 


TREASURE    ISLAND  125 

a  lad  of  spirit  and  the  picter  of  my  own  self  when  I  was  young  and 
handsome.  I  always  wanted  you  to  jine  and  take  your  share,  and  die 
a  gentleman,  and  now,  my  cock,  you've  got  to.  The  doctor  himself 
is  gone  dead  aginjyou — the  'ungrateful  scamp'  was  what  he  said ;  and 
the  short  and  the  long  of  the  whole  story  is  about  here :  You  can't  go 
back  to  your  own  lot,  for  they  won't  have  you ;  and,  without  you  start  a 
third  ship's  company  all  by  yourself,  which  might  be  lonely,  you'll 
have  to  jine  with  Cap'n  Silver."  So  far  so  good.  My  friends,  then, 
were  still  alive,  and  though  I  partly  believed  the  truth  of  Silver's 
statement,  that  the  cabin  party  were  incensed  at  me  for  my  desertion, 
I  was  "more  relieved  than  distressed  by  what  I  heard. 

"I  don't  say  nothing  as  to  your  being  in  our  hands,"  continued 
Silver,  "though  there  you  are,  and  you  may  lay  to  it.  I'm  all  for 
argument;  I  never  seen  good  come  out  o'  threatening.  If  you  like 
the  service,  well,  you'll  jine;  and  if  you  don't,  Jim,  why,  you're  free 
to  answer  no — free  and  welcome,  shipmate;  and  if  fairer  can  be  said 
by  mortal  seaman,  shiver  my  sides;" — "Am  I  to  answer,  then?"  I 
asked,  with  a  very  tremulous  voice. — "Lad,"  said  Silver,  "no  one's 
a-pressing  of  you.  Take  your  bearings.  None  of  us  won't  hurry 
you,  mate." — "Well,"  says  I,  growing  a  bit  bolder,  "if  I'm  to  choose, 
I  declare  I  have  a  right  to  know  what's  what,  and  why  you're  here, 
and  where  my  friends  are." — "Wot's  wot?"  repeated  one  of  the  buc- 
caneers, in  a  deep  growl.  "Ah,  he'd  be  a  lucky  one  as  knowed  that!" 
— "You'll,  perhaps,  batten  down  your  hatches  till  you're  spoke,  my 
friend,"  cried  Silver,  truculently,  to  this  speaker.  "Yesterday  morn- 
ing, Mr.  Hawkins,"  said  he,  "down  came  Doctor  Livesey  with  a  flag 
of  truce.  Says  he:  'Cap'n  Silver,  you're  sold  out.  Ship's  gone!' 
Well,  maybe  we'd  been  taking  a  glass,  and  a  song  to  help  it  round. 
Leastways  none  of  us  had  looked  out.  We  looked  out,  and,  by 
thunder!  the  old  ship  was  gone.  I  never  seen  a  pack  o'  fools  look 
fishier.  'Well,'  says  the  doctor,  'let's  bargain.'  We  bargained,  him 
and  I,  and  here  we  are;  stores,  brandy,  block-house,  and  the  firewood 


526  TREASURE    ISLAND 

you  was  thoughtful  enough  to  cut.  As  for  them,  they've  tramped; 
I  don't  know  where's  they  are."  He  drew  again  quietly  at  his  pipe. 
"And  lest  you  should  take  it  into  that  head  of  yours,"  he  went  on,  "that 
you  was  included  in  the  treaty,  here's  the  last  word  that  was  said :  'How 
many  are  you,'  says  I,  'to  leave?'  'Four,'  says  he — 'four,  and  one  of 
us  wounded.  As  for  that  boy,  I  don't  know  where  he  is,  confound 
him,'  says  he,  'nor  I  don't  much  care.  We're  about  sick  of  him.' 
These  was  his  words." 

"Is  that  all?"  I  asked. — "Well,  it's  all  you're  to  hear,  my  son," 
returned  Silver. — "And  now  I  am  to  choose?" — "And  now  you  are 
to  choose,  and  you  may  lay  to  that,"  said  Silver. — "Well,"  said  I, 
"I  am  not  such  a  fool  but  I  know  pretty  well  what  I  have  to  look  for. 
I've  seen  too  many  die  since  I  fell  in  with  you.  But  there's  a  thing 
or  two  I  have  to  tell  you,"  I  said,  and  by  this  time  I  was  quite  excited; 
"and  the  first  is  this:  Here  you  are,  in  a  bad  way;  ship  lost,  treasure 
lost,  men  lost ;  your  whole  business  gone  to  wreck ;  and  if  you  want  to 
know  who  did  it — it  was  I!  I  was  in  the  ajmle  barrel  the  night  we 
sighted  land,  and  I  heard  you,  John,  and  you,  Dick  Johnson,  and 
Hands,  who  is  now  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  and  told  every  word  you 
said  before  the  hour  was  out.  And  as  for  the  schooner,  it  was  I  who 
cut  her  cable,  and  it  was  I  who  killed  the  men  you  had  aboard  of  her, 
and  it  was  I  who  brought  her  where  you'll  never  see  her  more,  not  one 
of  you.  The  laugh's  on  my  side;  I've  had  the  top  of  this  business 
from  the  first.  Kill  me,  if  you  please,  or  spare  me.  But  one  thing 
I'll  say,  and  no  more;  if  you  spare  me,  by-gones  are  by-gones,  and 
when  you  fellows  are  in  court  for  piracy  I'll  save  you  all  I  can.  It  is 
for  you  to  choose.  Kill  another  and  do  yourselves  no  good,  or  spare 
me  and  keep  a  witness  to  save  you  from  the  gallows." 

I  stopped,  for  I  was  out  of  breath,  and,  to  my  wonder,  not  a  man 
of  them  moved,  but  all  sat  staring  at  me  like  as  many  sheep.  And 
while  they  were  still  staring  I  broke  out  again:  "And  now,  Mr.  Silver," 
I  said,  "I  believe  you're  the  best  man  here,  and  if  things  go  to  the 


TREASURE    ISLAND  127 

worst,  I'll  take  it  kind  of  you  to  let  the  doctor  know  the  way  I  took  it." 
"I'll  hear  it  in  mind,"  said  Silver,  with  an  accent  so  curious  that  I 
could  not,  for  the  life  of  me,  decide  whether  he  were  laughing  at  my 
request  or  had  heen  favorably  affected  by  my  courage. 

"I'll  put  one  to  that,"  cried  the  old  mahogany-faced  seaman — 
Morgan  by  name.  "It  was  him  that  knowed  Black  Dog."  -"Well, 
and  see  here,"  added  the  sea-cook,  "I'll  put  another  again  to  that,  by 
thunder!  for  it  was  this  same  boy  that  faked  the  chart  from  Billy 
Bones.  First  and  last  we've  split  upon  Jim  Hawkins!" — "Then  here 
goes!"  said  Morgan,  with  an  oath.  And  he  sprung  up,  drawing  his 
knife  as  if  he  had  been  twenty. 

"Avast,  there!"  cried  Silver.  "AVho  are  you,  Tom  Morgan? 
Maybe  you  thought  you  were  captain  here,  perhaps.  By  the  powers, 
but  I'll  teach  you  better!  There's  never  a  man  looked  me  between  the 
eyes  and  seen  a  good  day  a'terward,  Tom  Morgan,  you  may  lay  to 
that."  Morgan  paused,  but  a  hoarse  murmur  rose  from  the  others. — 
"Tom's  right,"  said  one. — "I  stood  hazing  long  enough  from  one," 
added  another.  "I'll  be  hanged  if  I'll  be  hazed  by  you,  John  Silver." 
— "Did  any  of  you  gentlemen  want  to  have  it  out  with  rnel"  roared 
Silver,  bending  forward,  with  his  pipe  still  glowing  in  his  right  hand. 
"Put  a  name  on  what  you're  at;  you  ain't  dumb,  I  reckon.  Him  that 
wants  shall  get  it.  You  know  the  way;  you're  all  gentlemen  o'  for- 
tune, by  your  account.  Well,  I'm  ready.  Take  a  cutlass  him  that 
dares  and  I'll  see  the  color  of  his  inside,  crutch  and  all,  before  that 
pipe's  empty." 

Not  a  man  stirred ;  not  a  man  answered.  "That's  your  sort',  is  it?" 
he  added,  returning  his  pipe  to  his  mouth.  "Not  worth  much  to  fight, 
you  ain't.  P'r'aps  you  can  understand  King  George's  English.  I'm 
cap'n  here  by  'lection.  I'm  cap'n  here  because  I'm  the  best  man  by  a 
long  sea-mile.  You  won't  fight,  as  gentlemen  o'  fortune  should;  then, 
by  thunder,  you'll  obey.     I  like  that  boy  now.     He's  more  a  man  than 


128  TREASURE    ISLAND 

any  pair  of  rats  of  you  in  this  here  house,  and  what  I  say  is  this:  Let 
me  see  him  as'll  lay  a  hand  on  him — that's  what  I  say." 

There  was  a  long  pause  after  this.  I  stood  straight  up  against 
the  wall,  my  heart  still  going  like  a  sledge-hammer,  but  with  a  ray  of 
hope  now  shining  in  my  bosom.  Silver  leaned  back  against  the  wall, 
his  arms  crossed,  his  pipe  in  the  corner  of  bis  mouth,  as  calm  as  though 
he  had  been  in  church;  yet  his  eye  kept  wandering  furtively,  and  he 
kept  the  tail  of  it  on  his  unruly  followers.  They,  on  their  part,  drew 
gradually  together  toward  the  far  end  of  the  block-house,  and  the  low 
hiss  of  their  whispering  sounded  in  my  ears  continuously,  like  a  stream. 
One  after  another  they  would  look  up,  but  it  was  not  toward  me,  it  was 
toward  Silver  that  they  turned  their  eyes. 

"You  seem  to  have  a  lot  to  say,"  remarked  Silver,  spitting  far  into 
the  air.  "Pipe  up  and  let  me  hear  it,  or  lay  to." — "Ax  your  pardon, 
sir,"  returned  one  of  the  men;  "you're  pretty  free  with  some  of  the 
rules,  maybe  you'll  kindly  keep  an  eye  upon  the  rest.  This  crew's 
dissatisfied;  this  crew  has  its  rights  like  other  crews,  and  by  your  own 
rules  I  take  it  we  can  talk  together.  I  ax  your  pardon,  sir,  acknowl- 
edging you  for  to  be  capting  at  this  present,  but  I  claim  my  right  and 
steps  outside  for  a  council."  And  with  an  elaborate  sea-salute,  this 
fellow  stepped  coolly  toward  the  door  and  disappeared  out  of  the 
house.  One  after  another,  the  rest  followed  his  example,  each  making 
a  salute  as  he  passed,  each  adding  some  apology. 

The  sea-cook  instantly  removed  his  pipe.  "Now  look  you  here, 
Jim  Hawkins,"  he  said  in  a  steady  whisper  that  was  no  more  than 
audible,  "you're  within  half  a  plank  of  death,  and  what's  a  long  sight 
worse,  of  torture.  They're  going  to  throw  me  off.  But  you  mark, 
I  stand  by  you  through  thick  and  thin.  I  didn't  mean  to;  no,  not  till 
you  spoke  up.  But  I  see  you  was  the  right  sort.  I  says  to  myself: 
You  stand  by  Hawkins,  John,  and  Hawkins  '11  stand  by  you.  You're 
his  last  card,  and  by  the  living  thunder,  John,  he's  yours!  Back  to 
back,  says  I.     You  save  your  witness  and  he'll  save  your  neck!"     I 


TREASURE    ISLAND  129 

began  dimly  to  understand.  "You  mean  all  is  lost?"  I  asked. — "Ay, 
by  gum,  I  do!"  be  answered.  "Ship  gone,  neck  gone — that's  the  size 
of  it.  Once  I  looked  into  that  bay,  Jim  Hawkins,  and  seen  no 
schooner — well,  I'm  tough,  but  gave  out.  As  for  that  lot  and  their 
council,  mark  me,  they're  outright  fools  and  cowards.  I'll  save  your 
life — if  so  be  as  I  can — from  them.  But  see  here,  Jim,  tit  for  tat— 
you  save  Long  John  from  swinging." 

I  was  bewildered;  it  seemed  a  thing  so  hopeless  he  was  asking — 
he,  the  old  buccaneer,  the  ringleader  throughout.  "What  I  can  do, 
that  I'll  do,"  I  said. — "It's  a  bargain!"  cried  Long  John.  He  hob- 
bled to  the  torch,  where  it  stood  propped  among  the  firewood,  and  took 
a  fresh  light  to  his  pipe. 

"Understand  me,  Jim,"  he  said,  returning.  "I've  a  head  on  my 
shoulders,  I  have.  I'm  on  squire's  side  now.  I  know  you've  got  that 
ship  safe  somewheres.  How  you  done  it  I  don't  know,  but  safe  it  is. 
Now  you  mark  me.  I  ask  no  questions,  nor  I  won't  let  others.  I 
know  when  a  game's  up,  I  do;  and  I  know  a  lad  that's  stanch.  All, 
you  that's  young — you  and  me  might  have  done  a  power  of  good 
together!"  He  drew  some  cognac  from  the  cask  into  a  tin  cannikin. 
"Will  you  taste,  messmate?"  he  asked,  and  when  I  had  refused,  "Well, 
I'll  take  a  drain  myself,  Jim,"  said  he.  "I  need  a  caulker,  for  there's 
trouble  on  hand.  And,  talking  o'  trouble,  why  did  that  doctor  give 
me  the  chart,  Jim?"  My  face  expressed  a  wonder  so  unaffected  that 
he  saw  the  needlessness  of  further  questions.  "Ah,  well,  he  did, 
though,"  said  he.  "And  there's  something  under  that,  no  doubt — 
something,  surely,  under  that,  Jim — bad  or  good."  And  he  took 
another  swallow  of  the  brandy,  shaking  his  great  fair  head  like  a  man 
who  looks  forward  to  the  worst. 


130  TREASURE    ISLAND 


CHAPTER    XXIX 

THE   BLACK    SPOT   AGAIN 

t 

The  council  of  the  buccaneers  had  lasted  some  time,  when  one  of 
them  re-entered  the  house,  and  with  a  repetition  of  the  same  salute, 
which  had  in  my  eyes  an  ironical  air,  begged  for  a  moment's  loan  of 
the  torch.  Silver  briefly  agreed,  and  this  emissary  retired  again, 
leaving  us  together  in  the  dark.  "There's  a  breeze  coining,  Jim,"  said 
Silver,  who  had  by  this  time  adopted  quite  a  friendly  and  familiar  tone. 

I  turned  to  the  loop-hole  nearest  me  and  looked  out.  The  embers 
of  the  great  fire  had  so  far  burned  themselves  out,  and  now  glowed 
so  low  and  duskily,  that  I  understood  why  these  conspirators  desired  a 
torch.  About  halfway  down  the  slope  to  the  stockade  they  were  col- 
lected in  a  group;  one  held  the  light;  another  was  on  his  knees  in  their 
midst,  and  I  saw  the  blade  of  an  open  knife  shine  in  his  hand.  I  could 
just  make  out  that  he  had  a  book  as  well  as  a  knife,  and  was  still  won- 
dering how  anything  so  incongruous  had  come  in  their  possession, 
when  the  kneeling  figure  rose  once  more  to  his  feet,  and  the  whole 
party  began  to  move  together  toward  the  house.  "Here  they  come," 
said  I,  and  I  returned  to  my  former  position,  for  it  seemed  beneath  my 
dignity  that  they  should  find  me  watching  them. — "Well,  let  'em 
come,  lad — let  'em  come,"  said  Silver,  cheerily.  "I've  still  a  shot  in 
my  locker." 

The  door  opened,  and  the  five  men,  standing  huddled  together 
just  inside,  pushed  one  of  their  number  forward.  In  any  other  cir- 
cumstances it  would  have  been  comical  to  see  his  slow  advances,  hesi- 
tating as  he  set  down  each  foot,  but  holding  his  closed  right  hand  in 
front  of  him.  "Step  up,  lad,"  cried  Silver.  "I  won't  eat  you.  Hand 
it  over,  lubber.  I  know  the  rules,  I  do;  I  won't  hurt  a  depytation." 
Thus  encouraged,  the   buccaneer  stepped   forth  more  briskly,   and 


TREASURE    ISLAND  131 

having  passed  something  to  Silver,  from  hand  to  hand,  slipped  yet 
more  smartly  back  again  to  his  companions. 

The  sea-cook  looked  at  what  had  been  given  him.  "The  black 
spot!  I  thought  so,"  he  observed.  "Where  might  you  have  got  the 
paper?  Why,  hello!  look  here,  now;  this  ain't  lucky!  You've  gone 
and  cut  this  out  of  a  Bible.  What  fool's  cut  a  Bible?"— "All,  there," 
said  Morgan,  "there.  Wot  did  I  say?  No  good'll  come  o'  that,  I 
said." — "Well,  you've  about  fixed  it  now,  among  you,"  continued 
Silver.  "You'll  all  swing  now,  I  reckon.  What  soft-head  lubber 
had  a  Bible?"— "It  was  Dick,"  said  one.— "Dick,  was  it?  Then  Dick 
can  get  to  prayers,"  said  Silver.  "He's  seen  his  slice  of  luck,  has  Dick, 
and  you  may  lay  to  that." 

But  here  a  long  man  with  yellow  eyes  struck  in.  "Belay  that 
talk,  John  Silver,"  he  said.  "This  crew  has  tipped  you  the  black  spot 
in  full  council ;  just  you  turn  it  over,  and  see  what's  wrote  there.  Then 
you  can  talk." —  "Thanky,  George,"  replied  the  sea-cook.  "You 
always  was  brisk  for  business,  and  has  the  rides  by  heart,  George,  as 
I  am  pleased  to  see.  Ah!  'Deposed' — that's  it,  is  it?  Very  prettjr 
wrote,  to  be  sure;  like  print,  I  swear.  Your  hand  o'  write,  George? 
Why,  you  was  gettin'  quite  a  leadin'  man  in  this  here  crew.  You'll 
be  cap'n  next,  I  shouldn't  wonder.  Just  oblige  me  with  that  torch 
again,  will  you?  this  pipe  don't  draw." 

"Come,  now,"  said  George,  "you  don't  fool  this  crew  no  more. 
You're  over,  now,  and  you'll  maybe  step  down  off  that  barrel,  and  help 
vote." — "I  thought  you  said  you  knowed  the  rules,"  returned  Silver, 
contemptuously.  "Leastways,  if  you  don't,  I  do;  and  I  wait  here — 
and  I'm  still  your  cap'n,  mind — till  you  outs  with  your  grievances,  and 
I  reply;  in  the  meantime,  your  black  spot  ain't  worth  a  biscuit.  After 
that  we'll  see." 

"Oh,"  replied  George,  "you  don't  be  under  no  kind  of  apprehen- 
sion; we're  all  square,  we  are.  First,  you've  made  a  hash  of  this 
cruise — you'll  be  a  bold  man  to  say  no  to  that.     Second,  you  let  the 


132  TREASURE    ISLAND 

enemy  out  o'  this  here  trap  for  nothing.  Third,  you  wouldn't  let  us 
go  at  them  upon  the  march.  Oh,  we  see  through  you,  John  Silver; 
you  want  to  play  booty,  that's  what's  wrong  with  you.  And  then, 
fourth,  there's  this  here  boy." — "Is  that  all?"  asked  Silver,  quietly. — 
"Enough,  too,"  retorted  George. — "Well,  now,  look  here,  I'll  answer 
these  four  p'ints;  one  after  another.  I  made  a  hash  o'  this  cruise,  did 
I?  Well,  now,  you  all  know  what  I  wanted;  and  you  all  know,  if 
that  had  been  done,  that  we'd  'a'  been  aboard  the  Hispaniola  this  night 
as  ever  was,  every  man  of  us  alive  and  fit,  and  the  treasure  in  the  bold 
of  her,  by  thunder!  Well,  who  crossed  me?  Who  forced  my  hand, 
as  was  the  lawful  cap'n?  Who  tipped  me  the  black  spot  the  day  we 
landed,  and  began  this  dance?  Why,  it  was  Anderson  and  Hands  and 
you,  George  Merry!  And  you're  the  last  above  board  of  that  same 
meddling  crew;  you,  that  sunk  the  lot  of  us!  By  the  powers!  but 
this  tops  the  stiff  est  yarn  to  nothing." 

Silver  paused,  and  I  ctxild  see  by  the  faces  of  George  and  his  late 
comrades  that  these  words  had  not  been  said  in  vain.  "That's  for 
number  one,"  cried  the  accused,  wiping  the  sweat  from  his  brow,  for  he 
had  been  talking  with  a  vehemence  that  shook  the  house.  "Why,  I 
give  you  my  word,  I'm  sick  to  speak  to  you.  You've  neither  sense  nor 
memory,  and  I  leave  it  to  fancy  where  your  mothers  was  to  let  you 
come  to  sea.  Sea!  Gentlemen  o'  fortune!  I  reckon  tailors  is  your 
trade." — "Go  on,  John,"  said  Morgan.  "Speak  up  to  the  others." — 
"Ah,  the  others!"  returned  John.  "They're  a  nice  lot,  ain't  they? 
You  say  this  cruise  is  bungled.  Ah !  We're  that  near  the  gibbet  that 
my  neck's  stiff  with  thinking  on  it.  You've  see  'em,  maybe,  hanged  in 
chains,  birds  about  'em,  seamen  p'inting  'em  out  as  they  go  down  with 
the  tide.  And  you  can  hear  the  chains  a- jangle  as  you  go  about  and 
reach  for  the  other  buoy.  Now,  that's  about  where  we  are,  every 
mother's  son  of  us.  And  if  you  want  to  know  about  number  four,  and 
that  boy,  why,  shiver  my  timbers!  isn't  he  a  hostage?  Are  we  going 
to  waste  a  hostage?     No,  not  us;  he  might  be  our  last  chance,  and  I 


TREASURE    ISLAND 


133 


Page  145. 


134  TREASURE    ISLAND 

shouldn't  wonder.  Kill  that  boy?  not  me,  mates !  And  number  three? 
Ah,  well,  there's  a  deal  to  say  to  number  three.  Maybe  you  don't 
count  it  nothing  to  have  a  real  college  doctor  come  to  see  you  every 
day — you,  John,  with  your  head  broke — or  you,  George  Merry,  that 
had  the  ague  shakes  upon  you  not  six  hours  agone,  and  has  your  eyes 
the  color  of  lemon  peel  to  this  same  moment  on  the  clock?  And  maybe, 
perhaps,  you  didn't  know  there  was  a  consort  coming,  either?  But 
there  is,  and  not  so  long  till  then;  and  we'll  see  who'll  be  glad  to  have  a 
hostage  when  it  comes  to  that.  And  as  for  number  two,  and  why  I 
made  a  bargain — well,  you  came  crawling  on  your  knees  to  me  to 
make  it — on  your  knees  you  came,  you  was  that  down-hearted — and 
you'd  have  starved,  too,  if  I  hadn't — but  that's  a  trifle!  you  look  there 
— that's  why!"  And  he  cast  down  upon  the  floor  a  paper  that  I 
instantly  recognized — none  other  than  the  chart  on  yellow  paper,  with 
the  three  red  crosses,  that  I  had  found  in  the  oilcloth  at  the  bottom  of 
the  captain's  chest.  Why  the  doctor  had  given  it  to  him  was  more  than 
I  could  fancy. 

But  if  it  were  inexplicable  to  me,  the  appearance  of  the  chart  was 
incredible  to  the  surviving  mutineers.  They  leaped  upon  it  like  cats 
upon  a  mouse.  It  went  from  hand  to  hand,  one  tearing  it  from  an- 
other; and  by  the  oaths  and  cries  and  the  childish  laughter  with 
which  they  accompanied  their  examination,  you  would  have  thought, 
not  only  they  were  fingering  the  very  gold,  but  were  at  sea  with  it, 
besides,  in  safety.  "Yes,"  said  one,  "that's  Flint,  sure  enough.  J.  F. 
and  a  score  below,  with  a  clove  hitch  to  it,  so  he  done  ever." — "Mighty 
pretty,"  said  George.  "But  how  are  we  to  get  away  with  it,  and  us 
no  ship?" 

Silver  suddenly  sprung  up,  and  supporting  himself  with  a  hand 
against  the  wall:  "Now,  I  give  you  warning,  George,"  he  cried. 
"One  more  word  of  your  sauce,  and  I'll  call  you  down  and  fight  you. 
How?  Why,  how  do  I  know?  You  had  ought  to  tell  me  that — you 
and  the  rest  that  lost  me  my  schooner,  with  your  interference,  burn 


TREASURE    ISLAND  135 

you!  But  not  you,  you  can't;  you  ain't  got  the  invention  of  a  cock- 
roach. But  civil  you  can  speak,  and  shall,  George  Merry,  you  may 
lay  to  that." — "That's  fair  now,"  said  the  old  man  Morgan. — "Fair! 
I  reckon  so,"  said  the  sea-cook.  "You  lost  the  ship;  I  found  the 
treasure.  Who's  the  hetter  man  at  that?  And  now  I  resign,  by 
thunder!  Elect  whom  you  please  to  be  your  cap'n  now;  I'm  done 
with  it." — "Silver!"  they  cried.  "Barbecue  forever!  Barbecue  for 
cap'n!" — "So  that's  the  toon,  is  it?"  cried  the  cook.  "George,  I  reckon 
you'll  have  to  wait  another  turn,  friend,  and  lucky  for  you  as  I'm  not 
a  revengeful  man.  But  that  was  never  my  way.  And  now,  ship- 
mates, this  black  spot?  'Tain't  much  good  now,  is  it?  Dick's  crossed 
his  luck  and  spoiled  his  Bible,  and  that's  about  all.  Here,  Jim — 
here's  a  cur'osity  for>you,"  and  he  tossed  me  the  paper. 

That  was  the  end  of  the  night's  business.  Soon  after,  with  a 
drink  all  round,  we  lay  down  to  sleep,  and  the  outside  of  Silver's  ven- 
geance was  to  put  George  Merry  up  for  sentinel,  and  threaten  him 
with  death  if  he  should  prove  unfaithful. 


CHAPTER    XXX 

ON    PAROLE 

I  wTas  awakened  by  a  clear,  hearty  voice  hailing  us  f  rom  Jthe 
margin  of  the  wood:  "Block-house,  ahoy!"  it  cried.  "Here's  the 
doctor."  And  the  doctor  it  was.  Although  I  was  glad  to  hear  the 
sound,  yet  my  gladness  was  not  without  admixture;  I  felt  ashamed  to 
look  him  in  the  face. 

"You,  doctor!  Top  o'  the  morning  to  you,  sir!"  cried  Silver, 
broad  awake  and  beaming  with  good-nature  in  a  moment.  "Bright 
and  early,  to  be  sure;  and  it's  the  early  bird,  as  the  saying  goes,  that 
gets  the  rations.     George,   shake  up  your  timbers,   son,  and  help 


136  TREASURE    ISLAND 

Doctor  Livesey  over  the  ship's  side.  All  a-doin'  well,  your  patients 
was — all  well  and  merry.  We've  quite  a  surprise  for  you,  too,  sir," 
he  continued.  "We've  a  little  stranger  here.  A  noo  boarder  and 
lodger,  sir,  and  looking  fit  and  taut  as  a  riddle ;  sle'p  like  a  supercargo, 
he  did,  right  alongside  of  John." 

Doctor  Livesey  was  by  this  time  across  the  stockade  and  pretty 
near  the  cook,  and  I  could  hear  the  alteration  in  his  voice  as  he  said: 
"Not  Jim?" — "The  very  same  Jim  as  ever  was,"  said  Silver.  The 
doctor  stopped  outright,  although  he  did  not  speak,  and  it  was  some 
seconds  before  he  seemed  able  to  move  on. — "Well,  well,"  he  said  at 
last,  "duty  first  and  pleasure  afterward,  as  you  might  have  said  your- 
self, Silver.  Let  us  overhaul  these  patients  of  yours."  A  moment 
afterward  he  had  entered  the  block-house,  and  with  one  grim  nod  to 
me,  proceeded  with  his  work  among  the  sick.  He  seemed  to  me  under 
no  apprehension,  though  he  must  have  known  that  his  life,  among 
these  treacherous  demons,  depended  on  a  hair,  and  he  rattled  on  to  his 
patients  as  if  he  .were  paying  an  ordinary  professional  visit  in  a  quiet 
English  family.  His  manner,  I  suppose,  reacted  on  the  men,  for 
they  behaved  to  him  as  if  nothing  had  occurred — as  if  he  were  still 
ship's  doctor,  and  they  still  faithful  hands  before  the  mast. 

"You're  doing  well,  my  friend,"  he  said  to  the  fellow  with  the 
bandaged  head,  "and  if  ever  any  person  had  a  close  shave,  it  was  you ; 
your  head  must  be  as  hard  as  iron.  Well,  George,  how  goes  it? 
You're  a  pretty  color,  certainly ;  why,  your  liver,  man,  is  upside  down. 
Did  he  take  that  medicine,  men?" — "Ay,  ay,  sir,  he  took  it  sure 
enough,"  returned  Morgan. — "Because,  you  see,  since  I  am  mutineers' 
doctor,  or  prison  doctor,  as  I  prefer  to  call  it,"  says  Doctor  Livesey, 
in  his  pleasantest  way,  "I  make  it  a  point  of  honor  not  to  lose  a  man 
for  King  George  (God  bless  him!)  and  the  gallows."  The  rogues 
looked  at  each  other,  but  swallowed  the  home-thrust  in  silence. 

"Dick  don't  feel  well,  sir,"  said  one. — "Don't  he?"  replied  the 
doctor.     "Well,  step  up  here,  Dick,  and  let  me  see  your  tongue.     No, 


TREASURE    ISLAND  137 

I  should  be  surprised  if  he  did:  the  man's  tongue  is  fit  to  frighten  the 
French.  Another  fever." — "Ah,  there,"  said  Morgan,  "that  corned 
o'  sp'iling  Bibles." — "That  corned — as  you  call  it — of  being  arrant 
asses,"  retorted  the  doctor,  "and  not  having  sense  enough  to  know 
honest  air  from  poison.  You'll  all  have  the  deuce  to  pay  before  you 
get  that  malaria  out  of  your  systems.  Camp  in  a  bog,  would  you? 
Silver,  I'm  surprised  at  you.  Well,"  he  added,  after  he  had  dosed 
them  round,  and  they  had  taken  his  prescriptions,  more  like  charity 
school-children  than  blood-guilty  mutineers  and  pirates,  "well,  that's 
done  for  to-day.  And  now  I  should  wish  to  have  a  talk  with  that  boy, 
please."     And  he  nodded  his  head  in  my  direction  carelessly." 

George  Merry  was  at  the  door,  spitting  and  spluttering  over 
some  bad-tasted  medicine;  but  at  the  first  word  of  the  doctor's  pro- 
posal he  swung  round  with  a  deep  flush,  and  cried,  "ISTo!"  and  swore. 
Silver  struck  the  barrel  with  his  open  hand. — "Si-lence!"  he  roared. 
"Doctor,"  he  went  on,  in  his  usual  tones,  "I  was  thinking  of  that, 
knowing  as  how  you  had  a  fancy  for  the  boy.  And  I  take  it  I've 
found  a  way  as'll  suit  all.  Hawkins,  will  you  give  me  your  word  of 
honor  as  a  young  gentleman  not  to  slip  your  cable?"  I  readily  gave 
the  pledge  required.  "Then,  doctor,"  said  Silver,  "you  just  step  out- 
side o'  that  stockade,  and  once  you're  there,  I'll  bring  the  boy  down  on 
the  inside,  and  I  reckon  you  can  yarn  through  the  spars.  Good-day 
to  you,  sir,  and  all  our  dooties  to  the  squire  and  Cap'n  Smollett. 

The  explosion  of  disapproval,  which  nothing  but  Silver's  black 
looks  had  restrained,  broke  out  immediately  the  doctor  had  left  the 
house.  But  he  was  twice  the  man  the  rest  were,  and  his  last  night's 
victory  had  given  him  a  huge  preponderance  on  their  minds.  He 
called  them  all  the  fools  and  dolts  you  can  imagine,  said  it  was  neces- 
sary I  should  talk  to  the  doctor,  fluttered  the  chart  in  their  faces,  asked 
them  if  they  could  afford  to  break  the  treaty  the  very  day  they  were 
bound  a-treasure-hunting.  "No,  by  thunder!"  he  cried,  "it's  us  must 
break  the  treaty  when  the  time  comes;  and  till  then  I'll  gammon  that 


138  TREASURE    ISLAND 

doctor,  if  I  have  to  ile  his  boots  with  brandy."  And  then  he  bade 
them  get  the  fire  lighted,  and  stalked  out  upon  his  crutch,  with  his 
hand  on  my  shoulder,  leaving  them  silenced  by  his  volubility  rather 
than  convinced.  "Slow,  lad,  slow,"  he  said.  "They  might  round 
upon  us  in  a  twinkle  of  an  eye  if  we  was  seen  to  hurry." 

Very  deliberately,  then,  did  we  advance  across  the  sand  to  where 
the  doctor  waited  us  on  the  other  side  of  the  stockade,  and  as  soon 
as  we  were  within  easy  speaking  distance,  Silver  stopped.  "You'll 
make  a  note  of  this  here  also,  doctor,"  said  he,  "and  the  boy'll  tell  you 
how  I  saved  his  life,  and  were  deposed  for  it,  too.  Doctor,  when  a 
man's  steering  as  near  to  the  wind  as  me — playing  chuck-farthing  with 
the  last  breath  in  his  body,  like — you  wouldn't  think  it  too  much, 
mayhap,  to  give  him  one  good  word!  You'll  please  bear  in  mind  it's 
not  my  life  only  now — it's  that  boy  into  the  bargain ;  and  you'll  speak 
me  fair,  doctor,  and  give  me  a  bit  o'  hope  to  go  on,  for  the  sake  of 
mercy."  Silver  was  a  changed  man,  once  he  was  out  there  and  had 
his  back  to  bis  friends  and  the  block-house;  his  cheeks  seemed  to  have 
fallen  in,  his  voice  trembled ;  never  was  a  soul  more  dead  in  earnest. 

"Why,  John,  you're  not  afraid?"  asked  Doctor  Livesey. — "Doc- 
tor, I'm  no  coward;  no,  not  I — not  so  much!"  and  he  snapped  his 
fingers.  "If  I  was  I  wouldn't  say  it.  But  I'll  own  up  fairly  I've  the 
shakes  upon  me  for  the  gallows.  You're  a  good  man  and  a  true;  I 
never  seen  a  better  man!  And  you'll  not  forget  what  I  done 
good,  not  any  more  than  you'll  forget  the  bad,  I  know.  And  I  step 
aside — see  here — and  leave  you  and  Jim  alone.  And  you'll  put  that 
down  for  me,  too,  for  it's  a  long  stretch,  is  that!"  So  saying,  he 
stepped  back  a  little  way  till  he  was  out  of  ear-shot,  and  there  sat 
down  upon  a  tree-stump  and  began  to  whistle,  spinning  round  now 
and  again  upon  his  seat  so  as  to  command  a  sight  sometimes  of  me 
and  the  doctor,  and  sometimes  of  his  unruly  ruffians  as  they  went  to 
and  fro  in  the  sand,  between  the  fire  and  the  house,  from  which  they 
brought  forth  pork  and  bread  to  make  the  breakfast. 


TREASURE    ISLAND  139 

"So,  Jim,"  said  the  doctor,  sadly,  "here  you  are.  As  you  have 
brewed,  so  shall  you  drink,  my  boy.  Heaven  knows  I  can  not  find  it 
in  my  heart  to  blame  you;  but  this  much  I  will  say,  be  it  kind  or  un- 
kind, when  Captain  Smollett  was  well  you  dared  not  have  gone  off, 
and  when  he  was  ill,  and  couldn't  help  it,  by  George,  it  was  downright 
cowardly!"  I  will  own  that  I  here  began  to  weep. — "Doctor,"  I 
said,  "you  might  spare  me.  I  have  blamed  myself  enough;  my  life's 
forfeit  any  way,  and  I  should  have  been  dead  now  if  Silver  hadn't 
stood  for  me;  and,  doctor,  believe  this,  I  can  die — and  I  dare  say  I 
deserve  it — but  what  I   fear  is  torture.      If    they  come  to  torture 

me " — "Jim,"  the  doctor  interrupted,  and  his  voice  was    quite 

changed,  "Jim,  I  can't  have  this.  Whip  over,  and  we'll  run  for  it." — 
"Doctor,"  said  I,  "I  passed  my  word." — "I  know,  I  know,"  he  cried. 
"We  can't  help  that,  Jim,  now.  I'll  take  it  on  my  shoulders,  my  boy; 
but  stay  here,  I  can  not  let  you.  Jump!  One  jump  and  you're  out, 
and  we'll  run  for  it  like  antelopes." — "No,"  I  replied,  "you  knoAV  right 
well  you  wouldn't  do  the  thing  yourself;  neither  you,  nor  squire,  nor 
captain,  and  no  more  will  I.  Silver  trusted  me;  I  passed  my  word, 
and  back  I  go.  But,  doctor,  you  did  not  let  me  finish.  If  they  come 
to  torture  me,  I  might  let  slip  a  word  of  where  the  ship  is,  for  I  got  the 
ship,  part  by  luck  and  part  by  risking,  and  she  lies  in  North  Inlet,  on 
the  southern  beach,  and  just  below  high  water.  At  half -tide  she  must 
be  high  and  dry." — "The  ship!"  exclaimed  the  doctor. 

Rapidly  I  described  to  him  my  adventures,  and  he  heard  me  out 
in  silence.  "There  is  a  kind  of  fate  in  this,"  he  observed,  when  I  had 
done.  "Every  step  it's  you  that  saves  our  lives.  You  found  out  the 
plot;  you  found  Ben  Gunn — the  best  deed  that  you  ever  did,  or  will 
do,  though  you  live  to  ninety.  Oh,  by  Jupiter!  and  talking  of  Ben 
Gunn,  why,  this  is  the  mischief  in  person.  Silver!"  he  cried,  "Silver! 
— I'll  give  you  a  piece  of  advice,"  he  continued,  as  the  cook  drew  near 
again;  "don't  you  be  in  any  great  hurry  after  that  treasure." 

"Why,  sir,"  said  Silver,  "I  can  only,  asking  your  pardon,  save 


140  TREASURE    ISLAND 

my  life  and  the  boy's  by  seeking  for  that  treasure;  and  you  may  lay  to 
that." — "Well,  Silver,"  replied  the  doctor,  "if  that  is  so,  I'll  go  one 
step  farther;  look  out  for  squalls  when  you  find  it!" — "Sir,"  said  Silver^ 
"as  between  man  and  man,  that's  too  much  and  too  little.  What 
you're  after,  why  you  left  the  block-house,  why  you  given  me  that 
there  chart,  I  don't  know,  now,  do  I?  and  yet  I  done  your  bidding  with 
my  eyes  shut  and  never  a  word  of  hope!  But  no,  this  here's  too  much. 
If  you  won't  tell  me  what  you  mean  plain  out,  just  say  so,  and  I'll 
leave  the  helm." 

"No,"  said  the  doctor,  musingly,  "I've  no  right  to  say  more;  it's 
not  my  secret,  you  see,  Silver,  or,  I  give  you  my  word,  I'd  tell  it  to 
you.  But  I'll  go  as  far  with  you  as  I  dare  go.  And  first,  I'll  give 
you  a  bit  of  hope;  Silver,  if  we  both  get  out  alive  out  of  this  wolf 
trap,  I'll  do  my  best  to  save  you,  short  of  perjury."  Silver's  face  was 
radiant.—  "You  couldn't  say  more,  I  am  sure,  sir,  not  if  you  was  my 
mother,"  he  cried.— "Well,  that's  my  first  concession,"  added  the  doc- 
tor. "My  second  is  a  piece  of  advice.  Keep  the  boy  close  beside  you, 
and  when  you  need  help,  halloo.  I'm  off  to  seek  it  for  you,  and  that 
itself  will  show  you  if  I  speak  at  random.  Good-by,  Jim."  And 
Doctor  Livesey  shook  hands  with  me  through  the  stockade,  nodded  to 
Silver,  and  set  off  at  a  brisk  pace  into  the  wood. 


TREASURE    ISLAND  141 


CHAPTER    XXXI 

THE   TREASURE-HUNT — FLINT'S    POINTER 

"Jim,"  said  Silver,  when  we  were  alone,  "if  I  saved  your  life,  you 
saved  mine,  and  I'll  not  forget  it.  I  seen  the  doctor  waving  you  to 
run  for  it — with  the  tail  of  my  eye,  I  did — and  I  seen  you  say  no  as 
plain  as  hearing.  Jim,  that's  one  to  you.  And  now,  Jim,  you  and  me 
must  stick  close,  back  to  back  like,  and  we'll  save  our  necks  in  spite  o' 
fate  and  fortune." 

Just  then  a  man  hailed  us  from  the  fire  that  breakfast  was  ready, 
and  we  were  soon  seated  about  the  sand  over  biscuit  and  fried  junk. 
They  had  lighted  a  fire,  fit  to  roast  an  ox ;  in  the  same  wasteful  spirit, 
they  had  cooked,  I  suppose,  three  times  more  than  we  could  eat;  and 
one  of  them,  with  an  empty  laugh,  threw  what  was  left  into  the  fire, 
which  blazed  and  roared  again  over  this  unusual  fuel;  and  what  with 
wasted  food  and  sleeping  sentries,  though  they  were  bold  enough  for  a 
brush  and  be  done  with  it,  I  could  see  their  entire  unfitness  for  anything 
like  a  jirolonged  campaign.  Even  Silver,  eating  away,  with  Captain 
Flint  upon  his  shoulder,  had  not  a  word  of  blame  for  their  recklessness. 

"Ay,  mates,"  said  he,  "it's  lucky  you  have  Barbecue  to  think  for 
you  with  this  here  head.  I  got  what  I  wanted,  I  did.  Sure  enough, 
they  have  the  ship.  Where  they  have  it,  I  don't  know  yet;  but  once 
we  hit  the  treasure,  we'll  have  to  jump  about  and  find  out.  And  then, 
mates,  us  that  has  the  boats,  I  reckon,  has  the  upper  hand.  As  for 
hostage,"  he  continued,  "that's  his  last  talk,  I  guess,  with  them  he  loves 
so  dear.  I've  got  my  piece  o'  news,  and  thanky  to  him  for  that;  but 
it's  over  and  done.  Once  we  got  the  ship  and  treasure  both,  and  off 
to  sea  like  jolly  companions,  why,  then  we'll  talk  Hawkins  over,  we 
will,  and  we'll  give  him  his  share,  to  be  sure,  for  all  his  kindness." 

It  was  no  wonder  the  men  were  in  a  good  humor  now.     For  my 


142  TREASURE    ISLAND 

part,  I  was  horribly  cast  down.  Should  the  scheme  he  had  now 
sketched  prove  feasible,  Silver,  already  doubly  a  traitor,  would  not 
hesitate  to  adopt  it.  Nay,  and  even  if  things  so  fell  out  that  he  was 
forced  to  keep  his  faith  with  Doctor  Livesey,  even  then  what  danger 
lay  before  us!  What  a  moment  that  would  be  when  the  suspicions  of 
his  followers  turned  to  certainty,  and  he  and  I  should  have  to  fight  for 
dear  life — he,  a  cripple,  and  I,  a  boy — against  five  strong  and  active 
seamen !  Add  to  this  double  apprehension  the  mystery  that  still  hung 
over  the  behavior  of  my  friends;  their  unexplained  desertion  of  the 
stockade;  their  inexplicable  cession  of  the  chart;  or,  harder  still  to 
understand,  the  doctor's  last  warning  to  Silver,  "Look  out  for  squalls 
when  you  find  it" ;  and  you  will  readily  believe  how  lfttle  taste  I  found 
in  my  breakfast,  and  with  how  uneasy  a  heart  I  set  forth  behind  my 
captors  on  the  quest  for  treasure. 

We  made  a  curious  figure,  had  any  one  been  there  to  see  us;  all 
in  soiled  sailor  clothes  and  all  but  me  armed  to  the  teeth.  Silver  had 
two  guns  slung  about  him,  one  before  and  one  behind — besides  the 
great  cutlass  at  his  waist,  and  a  pistol  in  each  pocket  of  his  square- 
tailed  coat.  To  complete  his  strange  appearance,  Captain  Flint  sat 
perched  upon  his  shoulder  and  gabbled  odds  and  ends  of  purposeless 
sea-talk.  I  had  a  line  about  my  waist,  and  followed  obediently  after 
the  sea-cook,  who  held  the  loose  end  of  the  rope.  For  all  the  world,  I 
was  led  like  a  dancing  bear.  The  other  men  were  variously  burdened ; 
some  carrying  picks  and  shovels — for  that  had  been  the  very  first 
necessary  they  brought  ashore  from  the  Hispaniola — others  laden  with 
pork,  bread,  and  brandy  for  the  midday  meal.  Well,  thus  equipped, 
we  all  set  out  and  straggled,  one  after  another,  to  the  beach,  where 
the  two  gigs  awaited  us.  Both  were  to  be  carried  along  with  us,  for 
the  sake  of  safety;  and  so,  with  our  numbers  divided  between  them,  we 
set  forth  upon  the  bosom  of  the  anchorage. 

As  we  pulled  over  there  was  some  discussion  on  the  chart.  The 
red  cross   was,  of  course,  far  to  large  to  be  a  guide;  and  the  terms  of 


TREASURE    ISLAND 


143 


Page  151. 


144  TREASURE    ISLAND 

the  note  on  the  hack,  as  you  will  hear,  admitted  of  some  ambiguity. 
They  ran,  the  reader  may  remember,  thus: 

"Tall  tree,  Spy-glass  shoulder,  bearing  a  point  to  the  ]\T.  of 
N.  N.  E. 

"Skeleton  Island  E.  S.  E.  and  by  E. 
"Ten  feet." 

A  tall  tree  was  thus  the  principal  mark.  Now,  right  before  us, 
the  anchorage  was  bounded  by  a  plateau  from  two  to  three  hundred 
feet  high,  adjoining  on  the  north  the  sloping  southern  shoulder  of  the 
Spy-glass,  and  rising  again  toward  the  south  into  the  rough,  cliffy 
eminence  called  the  Mizzen-mast  Hill.  The  top  of  the  plateau  was 
dotted  thickly  with  pine  trees  of  varying  height.  Every  here  and 
there,  one  of  a  different  species  rose  forty  or  fifty  feet  clear  above  its 
neighbors,  and  which  of  these  was  the  particular  "tall  tree"  of  Captain 
Flint  could  only  be  decided  on  the  spot,  and  by  the  readings  of  the 
compass.  Yet,  although  that  was  the  case,  every  man  on  board  the 
boats  had  picked  a  favorite  of  his  own  ere  we  were  halfway  over,  Long 
John  alone  shrugging  his  shoulders  and  bidding  them  wait  till  they 
were  there. 

We  pulled  easily,  by  Silver's  directions,  not  to  weary  the  hands 
prematurely ;  and  landed  at  the  mouth  of  the  second  river — that  which 
runs  down  a  woody  cleft  of  the  Spy-glass.  Thence,  bending  to  our 
left,  we  began  to  ascend  the  slope  toward  the  plateau.  The  party 
spread  itself  abroad,  in  a  fan  shape,  shouting  and  leaping  to  and  fro. 
About  the  center,  and  a  good  way  behind  the  rest,  Silver  and  I  followed 
-I  tethered  by  my  rope,  he  plowing,  with  deep  pants,  among  the 
sliding  gravel.  From  time  to  time,  indeed,  I  had  to  lend  him  a  hand, 
or  he  must  have  missed  his  footing  and  fallen  backward  down  the  hill. 

We  had  thus  proceeded  for  about  half  a  mile,  and  were  approach- 
ing the  brow  of  the  plateau,  when  the  man  upon  the  farthest  left  began 
to  cry  aloud,  as  if  in  terror.     Shout  after  shout  came  from  him,  and 


TREASURE    ISLAND  145 

the  others  began  to  run  in  his  direction.  "Pie  can't  have  found  the 
treasure,"  said  old  Morgan,  hurrying  past  us  from  the  right,  "for  that's 
clean  a-top."  Indeed,  as  we  found  when  we  also  reached  the  spot,  it 
was  something  very  different.  At  the  foot  of  a  pretty  big  pine,  and 
involved  in  a  green  creeper,  a  human  skeleton  lay,  with  a  few  shreds  of 
clothing,  on  the  ground. — "He  was  a  seaman,"  said  George  Merry, 
who,  bolder  than  the  rest,  had  gone  up  close,  and  was  examining  the 
rags  of  clothing.  "Leastways,  this  is  good  sea-cloth." — "Ay,  ay,"  said 
Silver,  "like  enough;  you  wouldn't  look  to  find  a  bishop  here,  I 
reckon.  But  what  sort  of  a  way  is  that  for  bones  to  lie?  'Tain't  in 
natur'."  Indeed,  on  a  second  glance,  it  seemed  impossible  to  fancy 
that  the  body  was  in  a  natural  position. 

The  man  lay  perfectly  straight — his  feet  pointing  in  one  direc- 
tion, his  hands  raised  above  his  head  like  a  diver's,  pointing  directly 
in  the  opposite. 

"I've  taken  a  notion  into  my  old  numskull,"  observed  Silver. 
"Here's  the  compass;  there's  the  tip-top  p'int  of  Skeleton  Island, 
stickin'  out  like  a  tooth.  Just  take  a  bearing,  will  you,  along  the 
line  of  them  bones."  It  was  done.  The  body  pointed  straight  in 
the  direction  of  the  island,  and  the  compass  read  duly  E.  S.  E.  by  E. 
"I  thought  so,"  cried  the  cook;  "this  here  is  a  p'inter.  Right  up  there 
is  our  line  for  the  Pole  Star  and  the  jolly  dollars.  But  by  thunder! 
if  it  don't  make  me  cold  inside  to  think  of  Flint.  This  is  one  of  his 
jokes,  and  no  mistake.  Come,  come,"  he  continued,  "he's  dead,  and 
he  don't  walk,  that  I  know;  leastways  he  won't  walk  by  day,  and  you 
may  lay  to  that.     Care  killed  a  cat.     Fetch  ahead  for  the  doubloons." 

We  started,  certainly,  but  in  spite  of  the  hot  sun  and  the  staring 
daylight,  the  pirates  no  longer  ran  separate  and  shouting  through  the 
wood,  but  kept  side  by  side  and  spoke  with  bated  breath.  The  terror 
of  the  dead  buccaneer  had  fallen  on  their  spirits. 


146  TREASURE    ISLAND 

CHAPTER   XXXII 

THE   TREASURE-HUNT — THE   VOICE   AMONG   THE   TREES 

Partly  from  the  damping  influence  of  this  alarm,  partly  to  rest 
Silver  and  the  sick  folk,  the  whole  party  sat  down  as  soon  as  they  had 
gained  the  brow  of  the  ascent.  Before  us,  over  the  tree-tops,  we 
beheld  the  Cape  of  the  Woods  fringed  with  surf;  behind,  we  not 
only  looked  down  upon  the  anchorage  and  Skeleton  Island,  but  saw — 
clear  across  the  spit  and  the  eastern  lowlands — a  great  field  of  open 
sea  upon  the  east.  Sheer  above  us  rose  the  Spy-glass,  here  dotted 
with  single  pines,  there  black  with  precipices.  There  was  no  sound 
but  that  of  the  distant  breakers  mounting  from  all  around,  and  the 
chirp  of  countless  insects  in  the  brush.  Xot  a  man,  not  a  sail  upon 
the  sea;  the  very  largeness  of  the  view  increased  the  sense  of  solitude. 

Silver,  as  he  sat,  took  certain  bearings  with  his  compass.  "There 
are  three  'tall  trees,'  "  said  he,  "about  in  the  right  line  from  Skeleton 
Island.  'Spy-glass  Shoulder,'  I  take  it,  means  that  lower  p'int  there. 
It's  child's  play  to  find  the  stuff  now.     I've  half  a  mind  to  dine  first." 

All  of  a  sudden,  out  of  the  middle  of  the  trees  in  front  of  us,  a 
thin,  high,  and  trembhng  voice  struck  up  the  well-known  air  and 
words : 

"Fifteen  men  on  the  dead  man's  chest — 
Yo-ho-ho  and  a  bottle  of  rum!" 

I  never  have  seen  men  more  dreadfully  affected  than  the  pirates. 
The  color  went  from  their  six  faces  like  enchantment;  some  leaped  to 
their  feet,  some  clawed  hold  of  others;  Morgan  groveled  on  the 
ground. 

"It's  Flint,  by !"  cried  Merry. — "Come,"  said  Silver,  strug- 
gling with  his  ashen  lips  to  get  the  word  out,  "that  won't  do.  Stand 
by  to  go  about.     This  is  a  rum  start,  and  I  can't  name  the  voice,  but 


TREASURE    ISLAND  147 

it's  some  one  sky-larking — some  one  that's  flesh  and  blood,  and  you 
may  lay  to  that."  His  courage  had  come  back  as  he  spoke,  and  some 
of  the  color  to  his  face  along  with  it.  Already  the  others  had  begun 
to  lend  an  ear  to  this  encouragement,  and  were  coming  a  little  to  them- 
selves, when  the  same  voice  broke  out  again — not  this  time  singing,  but 
in  a  faint,  distant  hail,  that  echoed  yet  fainter  among  the  clefts  of  the 
Spy-glass.  "Darby  McGraw,"  it  wailed,  "Darby  McGraw!  Darby 
McGraw!"  again  and  again;  and  then  rising  a  little  higher,  and  with 
an  oath,  "Fetch  aft  the  rum,  Darby!" 

The  buccaneers  remained  rooted  to  the  ground,  their  eyes  start- 
ing from  their  heads.  Long  after  the  voice  had  died  away  they  still 
stared  in  silence,  dreadfully,  before  them.  "That  fixes  it!"  gasped 
one. — "Let's  go." — "They  was  his  last  words,"  moaned  Morgan,  "his 
last  words  above-board."  Dick  had  his  Bible  out  and  was  praying 
volubly.  He  had  been  well  brought  up,  had  Dick,  before  he  came  to 
sea  and  fell  among  bad  companions. 

Still,  Silver  was  unconquered.  I  could  hear  his  teeth  rattle  in 
his  head,  but  he  had  not  yet  surrendered.  "Nobody  in  this  here  island 
ever  heard  of  Darby,"  he  muttered;  "not  one  but  us  that's  here. 
Shipmates,"  he  cried,  "I'm  here  to  get  that  stuff,  and  I'll  not  be  beat 
by  man  or  devil.  I  never  was  feared  of  Flint  in  his  life,  and,  by  the 
powers,  I'll  face  him  dead.  There's  seven  hundred  thousand  pound 
not  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  here.  When  did  ever  a  gentleman  o' 
fortune  show  his  stern  to  that  much  dollars  for  a  boozy  old  seaman 
with  a  blue  mug; — and  him  dead,  too?"  But  there  was  no  sign  of 
reawakening  courage  in  his  followers;  rather,  indeed,  of  growing 
terror  at  the  irreverence  of  his  words. 

"Belay  there,  John!"  said  Merry.  "Don't  you  cross  a  sperrit." 
And  the  rest  were  all  too  terrified  to  reply.  They  would  have  run 
away  severalty  had  they  dared,  but  fear  kept  them  together,  and  kept 
them  close  by  John.  He,  on  his  part,  had  pretty  well  fought  his 
weakness  down. 


148  TREASURE    ISLAND 

"Sperrit?  Well,  maybe,"  he  said.  "But  there's  one  thing  not 
clear  to  me.  There  was  an  echo.  Now,  no  man  ever  seen  a  sperrit 
with  a  shadow.  Well,  then,  what's  he  doing  with  an  echo,  I  should 
like  to  know?  That  ain't  in  natur',  surely."  This  argument  seemed 
weak  enough  to  me.  But  you  can  never  tell  what  will  affect  the 
superstitious,  and,  to  my  wonder,  George  Merry  was  greatly  relieved. 
— "Well,  that's  so,"  he  said.  "You've  a  head  upon  your  shoulders, 
John,  and  no  mistake.  'Bout  ship,  mates!  And  come  to  think  on  it, 
it  was  like  Flint's  voice,  I  grant  you,  but  not  just  so  clear  away  like  it,, 

after  all.     It  was  liker  somebody  else's  voice  now — it  was  liker " 

— "By  the  powers,  Ben  Gunn!"  roared  Silver. — "Ay,  and  so  it  were," 
cried  Morgan,  springing  on  his  knees.  "Ben  Gunn  it  were!" — "It 
don't  make  much  odds,  do  it,  npw?"  asked  Dick.  "Ben  Gunn's  not 
here  in  the  body,  any  more'n  Flint."  But  the  older  hands  greeted 
this  remark  with  scorn. — "Why,  nobody  minds  Ben  Gunn,"  cried 
Merry;  "dead  or  alive,  nobody  minds  him!" 

It  was  extraordinary  how  their  spirits  had  returned,  and  how  the 
natural  color  had  revived  in  their  faces.  Soon  they  were  chatting 
together,  with  intervals  of  listening;  and  not  long  after,  hearing  no 
further  sound,  they  shouldered  the  tools  and  set  forth  again,  Merry 
walking  first  with  Silver's  compass  to  keep  them  on  the  right  line  with 
Skeleton  Island.  He  had  said  the  truth ;  dead  or  alive,  nobody  minded 
Ben  Gunn. 

It  was  fine  open  walking  here,  upon  the  summit;  our  way  lay 
a  little  downhill,  for  the  plateau  tilted  toward  the  west.  The  pines, 
great  and  small,  grew  wide  apart;  and  even  between  the  clumps  of 
nutmeg  and  azalea,  wide  open  spaces  baked  in  the  hot  sunshine.  The 
first  of  the  tall  trees  was  reached,  and,  by  the  bearing,  proved  the 
wrong  one.  So  with  the  second.  The  third  rose  nearly  two  hundred 
feet  into  the  air  above  a  clump  of  underwood.  But  it  was  not  its  size 
that  now  impressed  my  companions;  it  was  the  knowledge  that  seven 
hundred  thousand  pounds  in  gold  lay  somewhere  buried,  below  its 


TREASURE    ISLAND  149 

spreading  shadow.  The  thought  of  the  money,  as  they  drew  nearer, 
swallowed  up  their  previous  terrors.  Their  eyes  burned  in  their 
heads;  their  feet  grew  speedier  and  lighter;  their  whole  soul  was  bound 
up  in  that  fortune  that  lay  waiting  there  for  each  of  them. 

Silver  hobbled,  grunting,  on  his  crutch;  his  nostrils  stood  out 
and  quivered;  he  plucked  furiously  at  the  line  that  held  me  to  him, 
and,  from  time  to  time,  turned  his  eyes  upon  me  with  a  deadljr  look. 
Certainly  he  took  no  pains  to  hide  his  thoughts.  In  the  immediate 
nearness  of  the  gold,  all  else  had  been  forgotten;  and  I  could  not  doubt 
that  he  hoped  to  seize  the  treasure,  find  the  Hispaniola,  cut  every 
honest  throat  about  that  island,  and  sail  away  as  he  bad  at  first 
intended,  laden  with  crimes  and  riches.  Shaken  as  I  was  with  these 
alarms,  it  was  hard  for  me  to  keep  up  with  the  rapid  pace  of  the 
treasure-hunters.  Now  and  again  I  tumbled,  and  it  was  then  that 
Silver  plucked  so  roughly  at  the  rope  and  launched  at  me  his  murder- 
ous glances.  We  were  now  at  the  margin  of  the  thicket.  "Huzza, 
mates,  all  together!"  shouted  Merry,  and  the  foremost  broke  into  a 
run.  And  suddenly,  not  ten  yards  farther,  we  beheld  them  stop.  A 
low  cry  arose.  Silver  doubled  his  pace,  digging  away  with  the  foot 
of  his  crutch  like  one  possessed,  and  next  moment  he  and  I  had  come 
also  to  a  dead  halt.  Before  us  was  a  great  excavation,  not  very 
recent,  for  the  sides  had  fallen  in  and  grass  had  sprouted  on  the 
bottom.  In  this  were  the  shaft  of  a  pick  broken  in  two  and  the  boards 
of  several  packing  cases  strewn  round.  On  one  of  these  boards  I 
saw  branded  with  a  hot  iron  the  name  "Walrus" — the  name  of  Flint's 
ship.  All  was  clear  to  probation.  The  cache  had  been  found  and 
rifled — the  seven  hundred  thousand  pounds  were  gone! 


150  TREASURE    ISLAND 


CHAPTER    XXXIII 

THE    FALL    OF   A    CHIEFTAIN 

There  never  was  such  an  overturn  in  this  world.  Each  of  these 
six  men  was  as  though  lie  had  been  struck.  But  with  Silver  the  blow 
passed  almost  instantly.  Every  thought  of  his  soul  had  been  set  full- 
stretch,  like  a  racer,  on  that  money;  well,  he  was  brought  up  in  a 
single  second,  dead;  and  he  kept  his  head,  found  his  temper,  and 
changed  his  plan  before  the  others  had  had  time  to  realize  the  disap- 
pointment. "Jim,"  he  whispered,  "take  that,  and  stand  by  for 
trouble."  And  he  passed  me  a  double-barreled  pistol.  At  the  same 
time  he  began  quietly  moving  northward,  and  in  a  few  steps  had  put 
the  hollow  between  us  two  and  the  other  five.  Then  he  looked  at  me 
and  nodded,  as  much  as  to  say:  "Here  is  a  narrow  corner,"  as,  indeed, 
I  thought  it  was.  His  looks  were  now  quite  friendly,  and  I  was  so 
revolted  at  these  constant  changes  that  I  could  not  forbear  whispering : 
"So  you've  changed  sides  again."' 

There  was  no  time  left  for  him  to  answer  in.  The  buccaneers, 
with  oaths  and  cries,  began  to  leap,  one  after  another,  into  the  pit,  and 
to  dig  with  their  fingers,  throwing  the  boards  aside  as  they  did  so. 
Morgan  found  a  piece  of  gold.  He  held  it  up  with  a  perfect  spout 
of  oaths.  It  was  a  two-guinea  piece,  and  it  went  from  hand  to  hand 
among  them  for  a  quarter  of  a  minute.  "Two  guineas!"  roared 
Merry,  shaking  it  at  Silver.  "That's  your  seven  hundred  thousand 
pounds,  is  it?  You're  the  man  for  bargains,  ain't  you?  You're  him 
that  never  bungled  nothing,  you  wooden-headed  lubber!" — "Dig  away, 
boys,"  said  Silver,  with  the  coolest  insolence;  "you'll  find  some  pig- 
nuts, and  I  shouldn't  wonder." — "Pig-nuts!"  repeated  Merry,  in  a 
scream.  "Mates,  do  you  hear  that?  I  tell  you  now,  that  man  there 
knew  it  all  along.     Look  in  the  face  of  him,  and  you'll  see  it  wrote 


TREASURE    ISLAND  151 

there." — "Ah,  Merry,"  remarked  Silver,  "standing  for  cap'n  again? 
You're  a  pushing  lad,  to  be  sure."  But  this  time  every  one  was 
entirely  in  Merry's  favor.  They  began  to  scramble  out  of  the  exca- 
vation, darting  furious  glances  behind  them.  One  thing  I  observed, 
which  looked  well  for  us;  they  all  got  out  upon  the  opposite  side  from 
Silver. 

Well,  there  we  stood,  two  on  one  side,  five  on  the  other,  the  pit 
between  us,  and  nobody  screwed  up  high  enough  to  offer  the  first  blow. 
Silver  never  moved ;  he  watched  them,  very  upright  on  his  crutch,  and 
looked  as  cool  as  ever  I  saw  him.     He  was  brave,  and  no  mistake. 

At  last,  Merry  seemed  to  think  a  speech  might  help  matters. 
"Mates,"  says  he,  "there's  two  of  them  alone  there;  one's  the  old 
cripple  that  brought  us  all  here  and  blundered  us  down  to  this;  the 
other's  that  cub  that  I  mean  to  have  the  heart  of.     Now,  mates " 

He  was  raising  his  arm  and  his  voice,  and  plainly  meant  to  lead 
a  charge.  But  just  then — crack!  crack!  crack! — three  musket-shots 
flashed  out  of  the  thicket.  Merry  tumbled  headforemost  into  the 
excavation;  the  man  with  the  bandage  spun  round  like  a  teetotum,  and 
fell  all  his  length  upon  his  side,  where  he  lay  dead,  and  the  other  three 
turned  and  ran  for  it  with  all  their  might.  Before  you  could  wink 
Long  John  had  fired  two  barrels  of  a  pistol  into  the  struggling  Merry. 
At  the  same  moment  the  doctor,  Gray,  and  Ben  Gunn  joined  us,  with 
smoking  muskets,  from  among  the  nutmeg-trees.  "Forward!"  cried 
the  doctor.  "Double  quick,  my  lads.  We  must  head  'em  off  the 
boats."  And  we  set  off  at  a  great  pace,  sometimes  plunging  through 
the  bushes  to  the  chest. 

I  tell  you,  but  Silver  was  anxious  to  keep  up  with  us.  The  work 
that  man  went  through,  leaping  on  his  crutch  till  the  muscles  of  his 
chest  were  fit  to  burst,  was  work  no  sound  man  ever  equaled;  and  so 
thinks  the  doctor.  As  it  was,  he  was  already  thirty  yards  behind  us, 
and  on  the  verge  of  strangling,  when  we  reached  the  brow  of  the 
slope.     "Doctor,"  he  hailed,   "see  there!  no  hurry!"     Sure  enough 


152  TREASURE    ISLAND 

there  was  no  hurry.  In  a  more  open  part  of  the  plateau  we  could  see 
the  three  survivors  still  running  in  the  same  direction  as  they  had 
started,  right  for  Mizzen-mast  Hill.  We  were  already  between  them 
and  the  boats,  and  so  we  four  sat  down  to  breathe,  while  Long  John, 
mopping  his  face,  came  slowly  up  with  us. 

"Thank  ye,  kindly,  doctor,"  says  he.  "You  came  in  in  about  the 
nick,  I  guess,  for  me  and  Hawkins.  And  so  it's  you,  Ben  Gunn !"  he 
added.  "Well,  you're  a  nice  one  to  be  sure." — "I'm  Ben  Gunn,  I 
am,"  replied  the  maroon,  wriggling  like  an  eel  in  his  embarrassment. 
"And,"  he  added,  after  a  long  pause,  "how  do,  Mr.  Silver!  Pretty 
well,  I  thank  ye,  says  you." — "Ben,  Ben,"  murmured  Silver,  "to  think 
as  you've  done  me." 

The  doctor  sent  back  Gray  for  one  of  the  pick-axes,  deserted,  in 
their  flight,  by  the  mutineers;  and  then  as  we  proceeded  leisurely 
downhill  to  where  the  boats  were  lying,  related,  in  a  few  words,  what 
had  taken  place.  It  was  a  story  that  profoundly  interested  Silver, 
and  Ben  Gunn,  the  half-idiot  maroon,  was  the  hero  from  beginning 
to  end.  Ben,  in  his  long,  lonely  wanderings  about  the  island,  had 
found  the  skeleton.  It  was  he  that  had  rifled  it;  he  had  found  the 
treasure ;  he  had  dug  it  up ;  he  had  carried  it  on  his  back,  in  many  weary 
journeys,  from  the  foot  of  the  tall  pine  to  a  cave  he  had  on  the  two- 
pointed  hill  at  the  northeast  angle  of  the  island,  and  there  it  had  lain 
stored  in  safety. 

When  the  doctor  had  wormed  this  secret  from  him,  on  the  after- 
noon of  the  attack,  and  when,  next  morning,  he  saw  the  anchorage 
deserted,  he  had  gone  to  Silver,  given  him  the  chart,  which  was  now 
useless;  given  him  the  stores,  for  Ben  Gunn's  cave  was  well  supplied 
with  goats'  meat  salted  by  himself;  given  anything  and  everything  to 
get  a  chance  of  moving  in  safety  from  the  stockade  to  the  two-pointed 
hill,  there  to  be  clear  of  malaria  and  keep  a  guard  upon  the  money. 
"As  for  you,  Jim,"  he  said,  "it  went  against  my  heart,  but  I  did  what 


TREASURE    ISLAND 


153 


Page  157 


154  TREASURE    ISLAND 

I  thought  best  for  those  who  had  stood  by  their  duty;  and  if  you  were 
not  one  of  these,  whose  fault  was  it?" 

That  morning,  finding  that  I  was  to  be  involved  in  the  disap- 
pointment he  had  prepared  for  the  mutineers,  he  had  run  all  the  way 
to  the  cave,  and,  leaving  squire  to  guard  the  captain,  had  taken  Gray 
and  the  maroon,  and  started,  making  the  diagonal  across  the  island, 
to  be  at  hand  beside  the  pine.  Soon,  however,  he  saw  that  our  party 
had  the  start  of  him;  and  Ben  Gunn,  being  fleet  of  foot,  had  been 
dispatched  in  front  to  do  his  best  alone.  Then  it  had  occurred  to  him 
to  work  upon  the  superstitions  of  his  former  shipmates;  and  he  was 
so  far  successful  that  Gray  and  the  doctor  had  come  up  and  were 
already  ambushed  before  the  arrival  of  the  treasure-hunters. 

"Ah,"  said  Silver,  "it  was  fortunate  for  me  that  I  had  Hawkins 
here.  You  would  have  let  old  John  be  cut  to  bits,  and  never  given  it 
a  thought,  doctor." — "Not  a  thought,"  replied  Doctor  Livesey, 
cheerily. 

And  by  this  time  we  had  reached  the  gigs.  The  doctor,  with  the 
pick-axe,  demolished  one  of  them,  and  then  we  all  got  aboard  the 
other,  and  set  out  to  go  round  by  the  sea  for  North  Inlet.  This  was 
a  run  of  eight  or  nine  miles.  Soon  we  passed  out  of  the  straits  and 
doubled  the  southeast  corner  of  the  island,  round  which,  four  days 
ago,  we  had  towed  the  Hispaniola.  As  we  passed  the  two-pointed  hill 
we  could  see  the  black  mouth  of  Ben  Gunn's  cave,  and  a  figure  stand- 
ing by  it,  leaning  on  a  musket.  It  was  the  squire,  and  we  waved  a 
handkerchief  and  gave  him  three  cheers,  in  which  the  voice  of  Silver 
joined  as  heartily  as  any. 

Three  miles  farther,  just  inside  the  mouth  of  North  Inlet,  what 
should  we  meet  but  the  Hispaniola,  cruising  by  herself.  The  last 
flood  had  lifted  her,  and  had  there  been  much  wind,  or  a  strong  tide 
current,  as  in  the  southern  anchorage,  we  should  never  have  found  her 
more,  or  found  her  stranded  beyond  help.  As  it  was,  there  was  little 
amiss,  beyond  the  wreck  of  the  mainsail.     Another  anchor  was  got 


TREASURE    ISLAND  155 

ready,  and  dropped  in  a  fathom  and  a  half  of  water.  We  all  pulled 
round  again  to  Rum  Cove,  the  nearest  point  for  Benn  Gunn's  treasure- 
house;  and  then  Gray,  single-handed,  returned  with  the  gig  to  the 
Hispaniola,  where  he  was  to  pass  the  night  on  guard. 

A  gentle  slope  ran  up  from  the  beach  to  the  entrance  of  the  cave. 
At  the  top,  the  squire  met  us.  To  me  he  was  cordial  and  kind,  saying 
nothing  of  my  escapade,  either  in  the  way  of  blame  or  praise.  At 
Silver's  polite  salute  he  somewhat  flushed.  "John  Silver,"  he  said, 
"you're  a  prodigious  villain  and  imposter — a  monstrous  imposter,  sir. 
I  am  told  I  am  not  to  prosecute  you.  Well,  then,  I  will  not.  But 
the  dead  men,  sir,  hang  about  your  neck  like  millstones." — "Thank 
you  kindly,  sir,"  replied  Long  John,  again  saluting. — "How  dare  you 
to  thank  me!"  cried  the  squire.  "If  is  a  gross  dereliction  of  my  duty. 
Stand  back!"  And  thereupon  we  all  entered  the  cave.  It  was  a 
large,  airy  place,  with  a  little  spring  and  a  pool  of  clear  water,  over- 
hung with  ferns.  The  floor  was  sand.  Before  a  big  fire  lay  Captain 
Smollett ;  and  in  a  far  corner,  only  duskily  flickered  over  by  the  blaze, 
I  beheld  great  heaps  of  coin  and  quadrilaterals  built  of  bars  of  gold. 
That  was  Flint's  treasure  that  we  had  come  so  far  to  seek,  and  that 
had  cost  already  the  lives  of  seventeen  men  from  the  Hispaniola.  How 
many  it  had  cost  in  the  amassing,  perhaps  no  man  alive  could  tell. 
Yet  there  were  still  three  upon  that  island — Silver,  and  old  Morgan, 
and  Ben  Gunn — who  had  each  taken  his  share  in  these  crimes,  as  each 
had  hoped  in  vain  to  share  in  the  reward. — "Come  in,  Jim,"  said  the 
captain.  "You're  a  good  boy  in  your  line,  Jim;  but  I  don't  think  you 
and  me'll  go  to  sea  again.  You're  too  much  of  the  born  favorite  for 
me.  Is  that  you,  John  Silver?  What  brings  you  here,  man?" — 
"Come  back  to  do  my  dooty,  sir,"  returned  Silver. — "All!"  said  the 
captain,  and  that  was  all  he  said. 

What  a  supper  I  had  of  it  that  night,  with  all  my  friends  around 
me;  and  what  a  meal  it  was,  with  Ben  Gunn's  salted  goat,  and  some 
delicacies  and  a  bottle  of  old  wine  from  the  Hispaniola.    Never,  I  am 


156  TREASURE    ISLAND 

sure,  were  people  gayer  or  happier.  And  there  was  Silver,  sitting 
back  almost  out  of  the  fire-light,  but  eating  heartily,  prompt  to  spring 
forward  when  anything  was  wanted,  even  joining  quietly  in  our 
laughter — the  same  bland,  polite,  obsequious  seaman  of  the  voyage  out. 


CHAPTER    XXXIV 

AND   LAST 

The  next  morning  we  fell  early  to  work,  for  the  transportation  of 
tliis  great  mass  of  gold  near  a  mile  by  land  to  the  beach,  and  thence 
three  miles  by  boat  to  the  Hispaniola,  was  a  considerable  task  for  so 
small  a  number  of  workmen.  The  three  fellows  still  abroad  upon  the 
island  did  not  greatly  trouble  us;  a  single  sentry  on  the  shoulder  of 
the  hill  was  sufficient  to  insure  us  against  any  sudden  onslaught,  and 
we  thought,  besides,  they  had  had  more  than  enough  of  fighting. 

Therefore  the  work  was  pushed  on  briskly.  Gray  and  Ben  Gunn 
came  and  went  with  the  boat,  while  the  rest  during  their  absence  piled 
treasure  on  the  beach.  Two  of  the  bars,  slung  in  a  rope's  end,  made 
a  good  load  for  a  grown  man — one  that  he  was  glad  to  walk  slowly 
with.  For  my  part,  as  I  was  not  much  use  of  carrying,  I  was  kept 
busy  all  day  in  the  cave,  packing  the  minted  money  into  bread-bags. 

It  was  a  strange  collection;  English,  French,  Spanish,  Portu- 
guese, Georges,  and  Louises,  doubloons  and  double  guineas  and  moi- 
dores,  and  sequins,  the  pictures  of  all  the  kings  of  Europe  for  the  last 
hundred  years,  strange  oriental  pieces  stamped  with  what  looked  like 
wisps  of  strings  or  bits  of  spider's  web,  round  pieces  and  square  pieces, 
and  pieces  bored  through  the  middle,  as  if  to  wear  them  round  your 
neck — nearly  every  variety  of  money  in  the  world  must,  I  think,  have 
found  a  place  in  that  collection,  and  for  number,  I  am  sure  they  were 
like  autumn  leaves,  so  that  my  back  ached  with  stooping  and  my 


TREASURE    ISLAND  157 

* 

fingers  with  sorting  them  out.  Day  after  day  this  work  went  on;  by 
every  evening  a  fortune  had  been  stowed  aboard,  but  there  was  another 
fortune  waiting  for  the  morrow ;  and  all  this  time  we  heard  nothing  of 
the  three  surviving  mutineers. 

At  last — I  think  it  was  on  the  third  night — the  doctor  and  I  were 
strolling  on  the  shoulder  of  the  hill  where  it  overlooks  the  lowlands  of 
the  isle,  when,  from  out  the  thick  darkness  below,  the  wind  brought  us 
a  noise  between  shrieking  and  singing.  It  was  only  a  snatch  that 
reached  our  ears,  followed  by  the  former  silence.  "Heaven  forgive 
them,"  said  the  doctor;  "  'tis  the  mutineers!" — "All  drunk,  sir,"  struck 
in  the  voice  of  Silver  from  behind  us. 

Well,  that  was  about  the  last  news  we  had  of  the  three  pirates. 
Only  once  we  heard  a  gunshot  a  great  way  off,  and  supposed  them  to 
be  hunting.  A  council  was  held  and  it  was  decided  that  we  must 
desert  them  on  the  island — to  the  huge  glee,  I  must  say,  of  Ben  Gunn, 
and  with  the  strong  approval  of  Gray.  We  left  a  good  stock  of 
powder  and  shot,  the  bulk  of  the  salt  goat,  a  few  medicines  and  some 
other  necessaries,  tools,  clothing,  a  spare  sail,  a  fathom  or  two  of  rope, 
and,  by  the  particular  desire  of  the  doctor,  a  handsome  present  of 
tobacco. 

That  was  about  our  last  doing  on  the  island.  Before  that  we 
had  got  the  treasure  stowed  and  had  shipped  enough  water  and  the 
remainder  of  the  goat  meat,  in  case  of  any  distress;  and  at  last,  one 
fine  morning,  we  weighed  anchor,  and  stood  out  of  North  Inlet,  the 
same  colors  flying  that  the  captain  had  flown  and  fought  under  at  the 
palisade. 

The  three  fellows  must  have  been  watching  us  closer  than  we 
thought;  for  coming  through  the  narrows  we  had  to  lie  very  near  the 
southern  point,  and  there  we  saw  all  three  of  them  kneeling  together 
on  a  spit  of  sand  with  their  arms  raised  in  supplication.  The  doctor 
hailed  them  and  told  them  of  the  stores  we  had  left,  and  where  they 
were  to  find  them,  but  they  continued  to  call  us  by  name  and  appeal  to 


158  TREASURE    ISLAND 

us,  for  God's  sake,  to  be  merciful  and  not  leave  them  to  die  in  such  a 
place.  At  last,  seeing  the  ship  still  bore  on  her  course,  and  was  now 
swiftly  drawing  out  of  ear-shot,  one  of  them — I  know  not  which  it  was 
— leaped  to  his  feet  with  a  hoarse  cry,  whipped  his  musket  to  his 
shoulder,  and  sent  a  shot  whistling  over  Silver's  head  and  through  the 
mainsail.  After  that,,  we  kept  under  cover  of  the  bulwarks,  and  when 
next  I  looked  out  they  had  disappeared  from  the  spit,  and  the  spit 
itself  had  almost  melted  out  of  sight  in  the  growing  distance.  That 
was,  at  least,  the  end  of  that;  and  before  noon,  to  my  inexpressible  joy, 
the  highest  rock  of  Treasure  Island  had  sunk  into  the  blue  round 
of  sea. 

We  were  so  short  of  men  that  every  one  on  board  had  to  bear  a 
hand.  We  laid  her  head  for  the  nearest  port  in  Spanish  America,  for 
we  could  not  risk  the  voyage  home  without  fresh  hands ;  and  as  it  was, 
we  were  all  worn  out  before  we  reached  it. 

It  was  just  at  sundown  when  we  cast  anchor  in  a  most  beautiful 
land-locked  gulf,  and  were  immediately  surrounded  by  shore-boats 
full  of  negroes  and  Mexican  Indians  and  half-bloods,  selling  fruits 
and  vegetables.  The  sight  of  so  many  good-humored  faces,  the  taste 
of  the  tropical  fruits,  and,  above  all,  the  lights  that  began  to  shine  in 
the  town,  made  a  most  charming  contrast  to  our  sojourn  on  the  island; 
and  the  doctor  and  the  squire,  taking  me  along  with  them,  went  ashore 
to  pass  the  early  part  of  the  night.  Here  they  met  the  captain  of  an 
English  man-of-war,  fell  in  talk  with  him,  went  on  board  his  ship,  and, 
in  short,  had  so  agreeable  a  time  that  day  was  breaking  when  we  came 
alongside  the  Hispaniola. 

Ben  Gunn  was  on  deck  alone,  and,  as  soon  as  we  came  on  board, 
he  began,  with  wonderful  contortions,  to  make  us  a  confession.  Silver 
was  gone.  The  maroon  had  connived  at  his  escape  in  a  shore-boat 
some  hours  ago,  and  he  now  assured  us  he  had  only  done  so  to  preserve 
our  lives,  which  would  certainly  have  been  forfeited  if  "that  man  with 
the  one  leg  had  stayed  aboard."     But  this  was  not  all.     The  sea-cook 


TREASURE    ISLAND  159 

had  not  gone  empty-handed.  He  had  cut  through  a  bulkhead  unob- 
served, and  had  removed  one  of  the  sacks  of  coin,  worth,  perhaps,  three 
or  four  hundred  guineas,  to  help  him  on  his  further  wanderings. 

I  think  we  were  all  pleased  to  be  so  cheaply  quit  of  him. 

Well,  to  make  a  long  story  short,  we  got  a  few  hands  on  hoard, 
made  a  good  cruise  home,  and  the  Hispaniola  reached  Bristol  just  as 
Mr.  Blandly  was  beginning  to  think  of  fitting  out  her  consort.  Five 
men  only  of  those  who  had  sailed  returned  with  her.  "Drink  and  the 
devil  had  done  for  the  rest,"  with  a  vengeance;  although,  to  be  sure, 
we  were  not  quite  in  so  bad  a  case  as  that  other  ship  they  sung  about: 

"With  one  man  of  the  crew  alive 
What  put  to  sea  with  seventy-five." 

All  of  us  had  an  ample  share  of  the  treasure,  and  used  it  wisely 
or  foolishly,  according  to  our  natures.  Captain  Smollett  is  now 
retired  from  the  sea.  Gray  not  only  saved  his  money,  but,  being  sud- 
denly smit  with  the  desire  to  rise,  also  studied  his  profession ;  and  he  is 
now  mate  and  part  owner  of  a  fine  full-rigged  ship ;  married  besides, 
and  the  father  of  a  family.  As  for  Ben  Gunn,  he  got  a  thousand 
pounds,  which  he  spent  or  lost  in  three  weeks,  or,  to  be  more  exact,  in 
nineteen  days,  for  he  was  back  begging  on  the  twentieth.  Then  he 
was  given  a  lodge  to  keep,  exactly  as  he  had  fared  upon  the  island; 
and  he  still  lives,  a  great  favorite,  though  something  of  a  butt,  with 
the  country  boys,  and  a  notable  singer  in  church  on  Sundays  and 
saints'  days. 

Of  Silver  we  have  heard  no  more.  That  formidable  seafaring 
man  with  one  leg  has  at  last  gone  clean  out  of  my  life;  but  I  dare  say 
he  met  his  old  negress,  and  perhaps  still  lives  in  comfort  with  her  and 
Captain  Flint.  It  is  to  be  hoped  so,  I  suppose,  for  his  chances  of 
comfort  in  another  world  are  very  small. 

The  bar  silver  and  the  arms  still  lie,  for  all  that  I  know,  where 
Flint  buried  them;  and  certainly  they  shall  lie  there  for  me.     Oxen 


160 


TREASURE    ISLAND 


and  wain-ropes  would  not  bring  me  back  again  to  that  accursed  island; 
and  the  worst  dreams  that  ever  I  have  are  when  I  hear  the  surf  boom- 
ing about  its  coasts,  or  start  upright  in  bed,  with  the  sharp  voice  of 
Captain  Flint  still  ringing  in  my  ears,  "Pieces  of  eight!  pieces  of 
eight!" 


yitirtM  Aw^w  $-^L^ 


«hCL     J> 


